


Sometimes being bad leads to something good

by Anox



Category: Rizzoli & Isles
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Detention, F/F, Falling In Love, Family Issues, First Kiss, First Meetings, Fluff, Friendship, Maybe slow-burn, Trust Issues
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-17
Updated: 2021-02-03
Packaged: 2021-03-06 16:08:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 30,711
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26431660
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anox/pseuds/Anox
Summary: Maura has to go to detention where she meets a ravenhaired girl. What is her secret and why does she make the blonde feel save?
Relationships: Maura Isles & Jane Rizzoli, Maura Isles/Jane Rizzoli
Comments: 53
Kudos: 67





	1. Detention

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoy this story. The lenght will depend on the feedback I get from you guys, so leave a comment or a kudo if you like.

They had used her. She had thought they were friends but in the end she had only been blinded. Now she was sitting in the principal's office looking down on her hands which rested on her lap. 

"Miss Isles, I am sure you are aware of the consequences. I can't believe that of all people you would do something this irresponsible. I am disappointed in you. You should have known better!", the principal Mrs. Darwen said writing the note which Maura will have to give her parents. Clearly informing them of the incident and furthermore the fact that she will spend the next two weeks in detention after school.

Yes, Maura should have known better but she got blinded with the promise of finally getting friends. No longer sitting alone during lunch and having someone to talk to besides her teachers. Still hearing the words out of Mrs. Darwens mouth hurt. Maura fought back a tear and kept looking at her fingers somehow fascinated by the veins running under her pale skin. 

The principal sighed and placed town her pencil to look at the young girl infront of her. "I know you are a very intelligent young woman. So I hope this is a good lesson for you."

Maura kept quiet. 

"Alright, here is the letter for your parents to sign. Go back to class."

Maura looked up taking the paper that was handed to her before getting up and turning towards the door.

"And Miss Isles, I hope there won't be any more trouble your planning to get into.", the blonde teenager looked back pressing out a small "No Mrs.".

She opend the wooden door and fled to her locker where she grabbed her backpack and books before practically running out of the school building. 

There was noone since school had ended over an hour ago and Maura was more than happy. She didn't think she could face anyone right now. 

She had told the driver, who was supposed to pick her up, that he should take the rest of the day of. The next bus would come in over an hour and Maura didn't plan to wait this long. In conclusion she had no other choice than to walk home. Thankfully the weather was great and neither to hot nor to cold. 

It took her 45 minutes to reach her house. There was no car in the driveway making clear that her parents weren't home. "Well, nothing new.", Maura thought climbing up the stairs to the front porch. She took out her keys and opend the door. It was quiet. The maid had probably finished her work already and went home to her children. 

Maura placed her shoes neatly next to the door before making her way into the house. She passed the livingroom to her right. The room which was only used during family festivities like Christmas or Thanksgiving. To her left was the kitchen and for a brief moment Maura debated whether she should get something to eat or wait. She decided to wait because a small part wished that she could have dinner with her parents as a normal family.

The door to her dad's office was closed and locked as always so she didn't even bother so look before taking the steps to reach the first floor. They had a guestroom which had its own bathroom at the end of the hallway. Her parents bedroom plus bathroom was on the right side while her mum's art studio was on the left. She was not allowed to enter the studio, her mother too scared that she would break anything. 

She continued to climb the stairs. Her room was at the end of the hall to the right a bathroom and on the left just a storage room. She reached her bedroom getting inside and closing the door behind herself.   
  


The lock clicked signalling her that she finally was completely alone. Her body slumped her shoulders shaking as tear started to form in her eyes.  
The first drop let a waterfall loose. Maura was sobbing uncontrollably sitting on the floor her back against the wooden door, face buried deep inside her hands.

They had used her. She couldn’t blame them since she was an easy target. No one ever talked to her and when they finally did, she was more than happy to help with whatever they needed.

Unfortunately, she noticed to late that it all was just one big charade.

“Maura?”, she heard her mother shout from downstairs.  
Her head snapped up, hands feverishly trying to wipe away the tears.

“I’ll be right down!”, she answered her voice slightly breaking.

Maura lifted herself from the ground dusting off her clothes before taking a deep breath and opening the door. Before going down, she made a quick detour to her bathroom. A look in the mirror, where a person stared back with empty eyes, gave her enough time to fix her make-up an make herself somewhat presentable. If her mother would take a closer look, she might figure out that Maura had been crying but fortunately, she never really seemed to care that much.

She found her mother in the kitchen, mail in her hand and a glass of water on the counter.  
“Hello mother. How was your day?”, she greeted with a smile on her lips walking over to the refrigerator where she took out a water bottle for herself.

“Same old, dear. Have you eaten already?”, Constance didn’t look up as she opened a letter.  
“Not yet. I wasn’t really hungry before but if you want to, I could cook up a little something for both of us?”, Maura loved cooking it helped her clean her head.

“That would be lovely but sadly I only have a few more minutes before I have to get ready for the benefit gala as you know.”, the older woman placed down the mail and took her glass of water to take a sip. She leaned back against the counter and looked at her daughter.

“Right, maybe next time then or I could leave you some for later if you’d like?”, Maura tried not to let herself sound as disappointed as she felt but clearly failed.

“That would indeed be lovely and don’t be to sad, as you know it is a school night after all, but next time you can surely accompany me and your father.”

“I understand. Don’t come back to late.”, Maura said as her mother started to walk towards the door to get upstairs. The woman always dressed nice but still felt the need to wear something different then her daily clothes.

Constance stopped at the doorframe looking back:” We won’t stay to long, but you know since we are hosting the event it would be impolite to leave early. Is everything alright?”

“Well, I got into a little bit of trouble at school, but I promise it won’t interfere with my studies and it won’t happen again.”, Maura said bracing herself for whatever punishment might come.

“Honey, your principal already called and informed me of the incident, and I told her it would be a good experience and I would make sure nothing like this would happen again.”, Constance gave her a small wave with her hand as her daughter looked at her in disbelieve.  
Why would the principal tell her to give her parents a note if she had already called them? Was it another punishment, letting her go through the stress of telling what had happened? Was it a way to lure out the names of the other students she kept secret, even though they treated her like garbage?

Maura would never snitch on someone even though she hated lying and it would give her a bad rash later.  
She had managed to answer Mrs. Darwen’s questions truthfully but left out some details.  
“Who helped you?” – I am completely capable to do it by myself.  
“Why would you betray the trust of your teacher only to get the answers to the next exam?” – It would be a big advantage to have the answers and it was quite easy to use the key given by Mrs. Jones to open the door to the teacher’s lounge.  
“Do you have any regret?” – Yes.  
She regretted trusting the wrong people, a fact she kept to herself.

“I really have to get ready now. Please tell the driver to pick you up after detention for the next few weeks and furthermore I think it would be good if you stay home for the next few weeks as well. You can take that time to concentrate on your studies.”, Constance turned, and Maura could hear her going up the stairs before a door fell shut.

As always, her mother was very polite and reserved. It seemed that nothing could shake that woman. Not even her daughter committing a theft.  
“Alright, lets see. I now must spend even more hours at school while passing my time in detention and I am grounded as well.”, she thought. Her late-night strolls through the neighbourhood park will have to wait for now.

Maura pulled out the note which the principal had given to her and placed it next to the mail so her parents would not overlook it.   
The blonde tried to busy herself picking out her ingredients, no longer wanting to think about what had happen today.

Continuing with her tradition to explore different cuisines around the world, she would cook some easy Chinese noodles with vegetables.   
She was washing the vegetables and putting some water on top of the stove as her mother made her way back down, stopping at the door to throw a quick look into the kitchen.   
“I’ll be on my way now. Don’t stay up to late! Bye Honey.”, she said grabbing her keys and slipping into her high-heels.   
“Have fun.”, Maura replied waving slightly as Constance walked away. The front-door was shut close and the girl left behind to dwell in her own thoughts and improve her cooking skills.

______________________________________________________________________

It took about twenty minutes to finish the Chinese noodles and by then Maura’s stomach made itself known growling like a wild animal.   
She filled a bowl and left the rest on the stove, so it would be easier for her parents to find the food later.

She walked out into the garden sitting down at the picknick-table.   
She ate her meal with chopsticks while listening to the wind that danced through the leaves. It was already late summer. Soon it might be to cold to sit outside without any jacket or sweater.   
  
After finishing her food Maura went back inside to clean up.   
Finally, she found herself back in her room. It was seven p.m. still enough time to do her schoolwork before heading to bed.


	2. Chapter 2

The next day school never seemed to end. It felt like an eternity to sit in that classroom with bad air because of the smell of some girl’s perfume and the sweat of some guy who thought it was a good idea to skip on his hygiene in the morning.

Finally, the bell rang, and every student took their books and fled the schoolgrounds. Well, not everybody, Maura didn’t hurry to get her stuff packed. Mr. Gordon, her math teacher, gave her a small smile as she left the room.  
He probably knew what she had done and just wanted to be polite.  
Maura always thought he was a nice man. His hair grey and always wearing a suite which reminded her of her grandfather who she had only known briefly.

Before heading to the detention-room Maura made a quick detour to her locker where she placed some of her books and took some materials she wanted to review in the next few hours.  
She had no idea how the whole detention thing worked, but she wanted to be prepared if they had to entertain themselves. She didn’t even know how many of them would be there.

The door was closed so Maura knocked.  
“Yes?”, Mrs. Darwen’s voice could be heard from the other side.  
The blonde opened and stepped inside before closing the door again.  
“Miss Isles. Nice of you to join us.”, the principal said at the sight of her flashing a big smile.  
“You can sit over there.”, Maura was pointed to a table in the back on her way she passed three students.

“Right. I think we are complete.”, Mrs. Darwen said looking down at a list on her table. She placed her last check behind Maura’s name.  
“Some of you are returning costumers and others are first timers. The rules are simple. Sit quietly. By the end of today I want each of you to have finished writing one page on why it was wrong what you did.”

“Alright, that’s not to bad.”, Maura thought taking out her pen and paper, ready to start with her task.

“I’ll be in my office down the hall and I will hear if any of you decide to play tricks. If you need to use the toilet you may.”, with those last words the principal left the room.

Maura began to write.  
  
“Why it was wrong what I did.  
I betrayed the trust that was given to me. Trust which is something you must earn and can lose in the blink of an eye. After that, it is very hard to regain it and even than it might leave a bitter taste in your mouth because you know what the person you confided in is capable of…”

The feeling of being stared at came over Maura and she stopped. She wasn’t sure if she should look up or just ignore it. She didn’t know what the other students had done to deserve detention, but she had heard stories. Rumours travelled fast around Marywick-High and they even reached someone like Maura who nobody seemed to notice.  
Drug usage, smoking, theft and outbursts of aggression resulting into violence that seemed to know no end and.  
It would be smart to keep her head down.  
“Just do what your told.”, Maura thought ready to continue with her work.

“Hey, you!”, the boy she had passed by said. She ignored him her pen moving over the paper filling it with words.  
“Are you deaf or something?”, he continued. A chair got moved and then there were footsteps.  
“I am talking to you.”, the boy was now standing in front of her and a chill went down her spine. His hand was placed on top of the paper blocking her.

Maura had no other choice than to look up now but before she could lift her head a female voice cut through the room.  
“Leave her alone

Hoyt.”  
The voice was raspy, and the blonde wondered to which of the other two students it belonged.

“Are you jealous Jane?”, the boy asked his voice leaving a bitter taste in Maura’s mouth. She didn’t know what it was, but something told her she should stay far away from him.  
  
“Don’t be ridiculous.”, the girl sounded disgusted as if the sheer thought of any relationship between the two of them would make her throw up.

Finally, the boy moved.  
“Oh Jane, Jane, Jane. You still don’t want to see that you belong to me, but sooner or later…”  
“You really have to stop talking so much bullshit.”, Jane interrupted him.

Hoyt moved away from Maura’s table and the blonde couldn’t help but glance up to see what was happening.

Dark brown eyes looked her way. The girl’s face was framed by black locks. “She is stunning.”, Maura thought and as if Jane could hear her, she smiled.

The creep got closer to Jane leaning down and took in a deep breath. “Lavender, my favourite.”

“Disgusting”, Maura thought and held back the urge to throw up.

“Get away from me.”, Jane growled and pushed Hoyt from her.

“Relax, don’t you understand a little bit of fun?”, he laughed turning his head to look at Maura, “Maybe you want to have some fun?”

His smile sickened the blonde and she wished that the principal would return so this would end.

“Still no tongue? I see.”, he laughed, and it sounded as if he had gotten insane.

Maura kept quiet, afraid what would happen next.

“You all are so boring!”, he exclaimed throwing his arms into the air and turning around, “If anyone needs me, I’ll be outside.”  
With that he left and finally some peace came back.

Maura thought she could return to her task at hand now, but Jane kept looking at her.

“You know he is just a big asshole, so don’t take what he says to seriously. The worst thing he has done so far is smoking on school property.”, the dark-haired girl said, but something told the blonde that it wasn’t the whole truth.  
Maura nodded slightly and started to write again.  
She had no time to get involved with any of them, she only wanted to pass her time during detention and get back to her studies, the thing she was good at.  
  
She was still hurt by the betrayal and there was no way that anything like that would happen

again.

“Better save than sorry”, Maura thought and continued writing. Jane seemed to understand that whatever conversation the two of them had was over, so she kept quiet for the rest of the remaining time.

Mrs. Darwen returned five minutes for five p.m. collecting the papers and telling them to be back tomorrow at the same time. The four students packed up and left. Maura walked fast, ready to get out of the school and to get as far away as possible from that Hoyt-guy.  
She had a bad feeling about him and she would not be surprised if he would end up in prison or dead in the future.  
  
The rest of the day passed by in the blink of an eye and like always Maura’s parents returned home late, no time to see their daughter and ask her about her day, before going to bed.  
Her diary would keep what she thought save.

_________________________________________________________

The next day came sooner than Maura would have liked. Her night had been sleepless and as she finally fell asleep dark brown eyes haunted her and a smile that she couldn’t help but adore.

She got ready and joined her parents in the kitchen were her father was drinking his coffee and her mother was reading the newspaper which wrote about her benefit gala.

“Good morning.”, Maura said as she entered the kitchen walking towards the fruit basket to pick out an apple. She wasn’t hungry but knew that she would need the energy to be able to pass her school day.

“Good morning dear. How was your day yesterday?”, Constance asked looking up for a split second before returning to her pages.

“Nothing special happened. How was the art gallery?”, Maura answered taking a knife to cut her apple into slices. She would eat a few and take the rest with her.

“It was fantastic. If you want to, we could go again on the weekend.”

“That would be lovely, but I have a big exam in History next week, that’s why I want to use the weekend to revise my notes.”

“Oh dear, you can surely spare one afternoon.”, Constance said looking her daughter in the eyes.  
The blonde was about to agree not able to deny her mother’s wish, as her father suddenly raised his voice: “Constance, let the girl learn if she wants to. She has to keep her grades up if she wants to get into Harvard.”

“Oh Arthur! Let the girl live for once.”

Maura knew what would come next. A discussion about what would be best for her. It would be so much easier if they asked her.

A quick look on the clock told her it was about time for her to leave and she was thankful for that way out.

“We have to postpone our talk. I wish you both a great day.”, she said and cleaned up before walking towards the door.

“Alright. Have a great day dear!”, Constance said, and her father nodded in agreement.

_______________________________________________________

School ended to soon and Maura found herself back in detention, again seated in the back.   
Mrs. Darwen gave the same speech but instead of writing anything she had boxes with books placed on each table in the room.   
“I want you to mark those books. Each of you got a list with instructions. After you finished sorting them bring them into the library where Mrs. Jones will be waiting for you. Any questions?”, the principal said. No one answered since the instructions were easy and even a child could do it.

“Alright. If there isn’t anything else, I’ll be in my office.”, with that she left.

Maura liked books. She read different genres and a lot of books which covered specific topics, for example was she very interested in biology and how the human body worked. Some might find it strange, but she wanted to become a doctor and help people, therefor it was important to begin with her studies as soon as possible.

If she read something more ordinary, she liked the British literature and her guilty pleasure, if you want to call it that, were romance novels. Since she was most of the time alone and had no friends those books gave her hope. Maybe she would find someone who looks at her as if she were the only person on this planet.

The books they had to sort were schoolbooks. Dictionary and all sorts of learning materials.   
They would spend their afternoon colour coding the backs of them. Blue for Maths, green for Geography, brown Biology and so on.   
Maura could think about a thousand things she could be doing which would be more productive than this.

The other students didn’t seem to mind each of them grabbed a box and started with the task.   
Maybe they were happy to be doing something instead of sitting around captured by their own thoughts.

Maura couldn’t help but glance over to Jane who already had finished a hand full of books.   
Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail and Maura wished she could loosen the little rubber band and let those wild locks lose.

“Don’t think about it.”, the blonde thought, returning to her task at hand.

After half an hour she had finally finished her first box. To be true she got lost in one of the books which showed the human anatomy in detail.   
Jane had already finished her first box and was almost through her second one.   
Thankfully Hoyt was quiet today. Maura wasn’t sure if she could handle his stupid mouth today.

Since she wanted to move a little after sitting all day Maura got up to take her box to the library.   
In the hallway she heard Janes voice behind her: “Hey. Wait a second.”

The blonde turned only to see the other girl walking toward her. She was carrying her box as if it weighted nothing and Maura enjoyed the view for a moment.

“Let’s go together.”, Jane said as she reached Maura’s side. The blonde swallowed hard before nodding and continuing her walk. She could see the dark hared girl’s form, indicating that she was very active in sports.

“Maybe she is part of one of the school teams.”, Maura wondered.

They reached the library and Jane opened the door with a push of her hip since her hands were occupied. With her foot she was holding the door open for Maura to pass through.


	3. Chapter 3

Maura put her box next to Janes und wondered how long it would take Mrs. Jones to put all those books into the right shelves. It wasn’t right that one woman would have to do it all by herself. Mrs. Jones was already an old lady, her grey hair pulled back in a simple bun. The blonde had seen the older woman walk around slow and very carful as if she was afraid to trip or each step cost her more energy than she had.

“I wonder if it would be alright if I help you putting those books away?”, Maura asked looking at the librarian who smiled in delight.

“Oh, that would be wonderful, but you may have to ask Mrs. Darwen first I suppose.”, Mrs. Jones said pushing her glasses up a notch.

Jane had stopped in her tracks looking back as if she was waiting for the blonde to follow her.  
“You coming?”, she said and a smile grew on her face which made Maura’s heart skip a beat.

“Stop it!”, the blonde thought to herself. She couldn’t risk getting hurt again, not now, not ever.

“You can go. I’ll find my way back alone.”, she said to Jane who looked disappointed. She didn’t intend to hurt the other girl, but her words had been harsher than expected.

Jane nodded and turned without another word leaving the librarian and Maura alone.

The blonde turned to Mrs. Jones again: “I’ll go and ask Mrs. Darwen.”

The librarian smiled and nodded as Maura left.

\-------------------------

Mrs. Darwen was in her office as she had told the students. Before entering Maura knocked on the doorframe.

“Yes?”, the woman greeted looking up from some student files she had been reading. As she realised who was standing in front of her she hurried to cover the papers but not fast enough, so Maura was able to read at least the name. Charles Hoyt.

That creep made her feel sick, she didn’t know why and that made her crazy.

“Oh Maura. What do you need?”, Mrs. Darwen said smiling.

“I wonder if it would be possible to help Mrs. Jones in the library? I know it would take her all day to sort those books, and since we are four, I thought maybe I could go and help her?”, Maura stated her wish.

“Thoughtful as always.”, the principal smiled, “Of course you can go and help her. Just make sure to be back in the room before five p.m.”

“I will. Thank you.”, the blonde smiled as well. Happy and relieved to be able to get away, “Then I’ll be on my way.”

Maura returned to the library to tell Mrs. Jones the good news. To her dislike the woman was not alone. Charles Hoyt was leaning against the front desk on his face a grin that froze the blood in her veins. The librarian didn’t look comfortable and as she noticed Maura the shine of hope crossed her face.

The boy noticed the change and turned wanting to figure out who interrupted his fun.  
When he realised who was standing there his grin widened.  
“Look who we have here. If it isn’t Miss Maura Isles.”, hearing her name coming from his lips made her want to throw up. Instead she stayed strong lifting her chin up more to show him that she was not afraid.

She had read about all kind of psychological diseases and after meeting him for the first time something had become very clear: He loved it if his victims were afraid and powerless.  
Maura would not give him any satisfaction.

“Still no tongue?”, he chuckled moving closer until only a few steps separated the two students from each other.  
In this moment, the blonde wished to be invisible or some place else. Even more as Hoyte reached over to capture a strand of her hair, letting it run through his fingers.  
“So soft.”, he said, but Maura didn’t even blink the librarian was still locked in her place. She didn’t blame her; Hoyt could have that effect.

“Didn’t I tell you to leave her alone?”, Jane’s voice came from behind the blonde and her tone was sharp.  
Instead of stepping back, Hoyt only smiled bigger and looked past Maura.  
“Oh Jane! The knight in shining armour.”, he laughed. 

“Cut your bullshit. Get back to the room and continue with your work.”, Jane continued getting closer. The blonde could almost feel the warmth of the other girl’s body on her back.

“Yo, Jane!”, another male voice came from the corridor. It must be the new boy that had joined them today. Mrs. Darwen had introduced him as Barry Frost. Maura had read about him in the school newspaper. He had managed to score the winning point in the last basketball match. They said he could even make it to a professional player.

“Can’t you see that I am talking to the lady?”, Hoyt asked angered.

“Well, buddy, I only saw you harassing two fellow students.”, Frost answered his voice strong and clear.  
Still Maura didn’t dare to move, not wanting to draw any attention, since the air seemed to be loaded with energy.

“Nobody asked you, BUDDY!”, Hoyt growled stepping past the blond to face the other boy.

Before the situation could escalate Jane slipped between them.  
“Stop it boys. Hoyt go back into the classroom. Frost put your box to the others.”, she said, as they didn’t react, she continued, “NOW!”

Hoyt snorted but finally moved pushing past Frost not missing the chance to bump into his shoulder.  
“See you next time.”, he waved and was gone.

“Why is that boy so troublesome?”, Jane murmured and rubbed her eyes. She sounded tired.

“He really is locked on you. Whatever you did, you should fix it.”, Frost said patting Jane on her shoulder before picking up his box that he left on the ground in front of the library.

“That’s the thing. I didn’t do anything except for interrupting his weak try to flirt with some poor underclassman. She was more than happy but he seemed to think that I am somehow interested in him.”, Jane tried to explain going to get her own box and placing it next to the others.

Maura listened fascinated by how easy it was for them to talk without expectations or criticism.  
  
“Well, are you interested?”, Frost asked his voice filled with amusement.

“God no!”, Jane exclaimed, “He really is not my typ. I mean have you seen his crazy eyes?”

“I thought you like people who are special”, the boy continued to joke which made the black-haired girl hit him on the back of his head with her flat hand.

“Hey! What was that for?”, he exclaimed rubbing his head. Maura was sure the hit wasn’t even that hard but still he acted as if she had hurt him.

“For talking bullshit.”, Jane laughed, it sounded free and real.

“I am really thankful that you all came, but please don’t use such language.”, Mrs. Jones said. Maura had almost forgotten that she had been standing behind the front desk the whole time.  
The poor lady must be confused and scared.

“I am very sorry Mrs. Jones.”, Jane apologised, “He didn’t bother you, did he?”

“Maura came before he could say anything or act.”, the librarian looked at the blonde, giving her a small smile.

“Good. Who knows what he is thinking.”, the girl turned towards Maura, “Are you alright?”

“Yes, thank you.”, she answered quickly and only with few words not able to trust her own voice. To be true, he had scared her, the look in his eyes if he could do whatever he wanted.  
For a split-second Jane watched her closely, trying to figure out if she was telling the truth. Finally, she decided to trust Maura’s words.

“Alright. Well, I think we still have a lot of books to mark. How about we go back to the classroom?”, Jane asked, already pushing Frost out of the library. Maura didn’t move.

“You coming?”, Jane repeated the question from earlier.

“No, I am going to help Mrs. Jones sorting the books.”, the blonde answered walking over to the boxes.

“Alright.”, Jane smiled slightly before continuing her path to get back to the classroom.

The rest of the afternoon passed without any further incidents. If Hoyt came into the library Jane would be behind him, hindering him from doing anything except placing his box down.

He clearly got frustrated but the opportunity to be close to Jane seemed to lessen his hurt.

The two girls didn’t exchange any words which Maura didn’t mind.  
As the clock said it was only fifteen minutes until five p.m. the blonde decided it would be a good time to finish up her work. She had managed to sort almost all the boxes with only two left. Mrs. Jones was more than happy for her help since the woman had problems with her back and couldn’t reach the top shelves.

Before leaving the library Mrs. Jones pulled out a book from under her front desk.  
“Here, take this as a little thank you.”, she said handing it over to the blonde.  
Maura read the title “Jane Eyre”. Of course, she had already read the book as she had others of great British literature but still, she felt her heart warm up.

“Thank you!”, she said reaching over to softly squeeze the librarian’s hand who smiled.

______________________________

Maura returned to the classroom where Jane, Frost and Hoyt were waiting. She passed the students and took her place at the back of the class. To her dislike Hoyt leaned forward towards Jane who was seated in front of him.  
“You want to play a game afterwards?”, he whispered but loud enough for everyone to hear.

“Sorry I don’t play with boys like you.”, Jane answered not even looking up from her paper where she was scribbling something.

“Don’t be like that Janie.”, he pouted and looked more like a little child who was told, that he couldn’t have candy before dinner.

“She told you that she didn’t want to, so do us all a favour and shout up.”, Frost said turning around to look at the other boy.  
“This is between Jane and I.”, Hoyt spit towards Frost.

“It might be between the two of you, but I have to listen to your failed attempts and to be honest, nothing is worse than a guy who can’t take a simple NO as answer.”, Maura was impressed by his bravery. Well, maybe it was foolishness, but they would have to wait to find out since Mrs. Darwen entered the room.

“I hope you managed to finish as many books as possible. As I see there are no boxes left which is great!”, she slightly clapped her hands as if she was applauding them for their good work but was unsure if she should.  
“That will be enough for today I guess.”, she continued, “I’ll see you tomorrow at the same time.”

With that the four students were dismissed.  
Maura took her time getting out of the school building since she didn’t want to meet Jane or the boys.  
The driver picked her up around the corner and like always he didn’t say a word.

Today her parents were home both cars in the driveway.  
The blonde thanked the driver even though he only nodded in acknowledgement before driving off.  
She entered the house, but no one was downstairs. She figured that her parents must still be working in their offices. Since she didn’t want to disturb them Maura carefully walked upstairs where she slipped into her room.

“Well let’s get started with the homework.”, she thought pulling out a notepad and some pencils from her backpack.

She spent the next hours finishing her schoolwork and when she looked on the clock again it was already nine p.m.

Her stomach growled and Maura decided it would be good to go and get a light meal before going to bed.

When she stepped into the kitchen her father was standing at the open refrigerator reaching in to grab the milk.

“Oh Maura, I hadn’t noticed that you got home. How was your day?”, he asked when he noticed his daughter walking into the room.   
It wasn’t unusual for her father to be buried in his work which then led to him not noticing anything that was happening around him.

“The same as always. How was work, did you manage do finish everything you wanted?”, the girl answered moving over to the cabinet to grab two glasses before joining her father at the counter.   
She placed down the glasses and Arthur poured them both some milk.

“Thank you.”, the blonde said taking a sip.

“Unfortunately, I still have to review a few documents, but I don’t think it will take too long.”, her father said placing the milk back into the refrigerator.

He returned and took his glass. “If you would excuse me, I’ll be back in my office to finish up. Maybe we could play a round of chess afterwards?”, he said smiling at her.

Maura loved playing chess and her father had taught her everything he knows which was why most of the time she would win.   
“I would love to. Just come find me when you are ready, I’ll be either in the kitchen or in my room.”, the blonde answered.

Her dad nodded walking over to press a kiss on her head before leaving her alone.

Her stomach growled again and remembered her to get something to eat. She opened the refrigerator and pulled out one of the Tupperware-containers and inspected it contents.   
Some mixed salat which was probably prepared earlier this day. She took the container and grabbed a bottle of salat-dressing.

Maura spread some of the white sauce over the salat and mixed everything with her fork she took from the top drawer.   
She sat down on one of the bar-stools next to the counter and started to eat.

__________________________

After she had finished her meal she cleaned up and looked at the clock. It had been 30 minutes already and she wondered how much longer her father would have to work.   
Maybe she should tell him that they should reschedule their game of chess since she would have to go to school tomorrow.

Instead of going straight to her room she decided to make a detour to her father’s office.   
The door was slightly open, so she lightly knocked and waited for an answer.   
There was non so she decided to push open the door further.

Her father was sitting at his desk his computer still on. In front of him were papers spread across the table.

“I don’t want to interrupt, but I think we should reschedule our game.”, Maura said stepping into the room.   
He still didn’t react, and the girl got worried until he moved slightly taking a deep breath and beginning to snore.

He had somehow managed to fall asleep and the blonde chuckled lightly while she walked over placing her hand on his shoulder.

“Let’s go to bed.”, she said shaking him softly to wake him.

Arthur mumbled something but kept sleeping. She tried again with a little more force but still he didn’t wake up.

Finally, she decided that it would be best to tell her mother.   
Constance was still in her office as well and Maura knocked before entering.

“Hello darling.”, her mother greeted looking up from some papers.

“I wanted to inform you that dad fell asleep in his office. I tried to wake him but he wouldn’t so I thought you could try.”, Maura said.

“This man. I told him he should go to bed early since we came back late yesterday, but of course he never listens to me.”, Constance answered piling her papers and getting out of her chair.

“I’ll take care of it.”, she said walking past her daughter, “You should go to bed too.”

“Yes, mother. Would you please tell dad that we are rescheduling our game of chess? I’ll go to bed now, so good night.”, the girl said and left the office as well.   
“Good night darling.”

Maura waited before going upstairs so she could hear her mother trying to wake her father. After a few minutes he finally answered claiming that he was only resting his eyes.

Since she knew that her father wouldn’t have to sleep in his office chair the girl returned to her own room.   
She changed quickly into her pyjamas and went to brush her teeth before going to bed.

She fell into a deep sleep dreaming about dark brown eyes and a smile that warmed her soul.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all your nice comments so far.   
> I hope you enjoy this chapter as well.

The next morning passed in a haze and before Maura even noticed she was sitting in class. Her classmates talking while her teacher was trying to explain something. She hadn’t listened and wasn’t interested since she had read the whole schoolbook already during her free time. She loved to be prepared and since there wasn’t much to do while her parents had work, she ended up lying in the garden with her books. Sometimes she would visit the museums or go for long walks but most of the time she got lost inside the words she read. History was a subject she specially liked and occasionally she would dream about going back in time. Dreaming about dancing at a ball and wearing one of those beautifully made dresses. Sitting with the family around a fireplace reading the newspaper or listening to some story that was told.

Some might think that the past was boring without all the electronic and new technology but in Maura’s eyes it sounds nice to live just in the moment. If someone really wanted to meet you, they would have to take a lot of time out of their busy day. What better way to show that they care about you?

Maura was spacing out again as she heard a voice that haunted her dreams, rasp and soft at the same time.

“Mr. Davis, I am sorry to interrupt your lesson, but could you please explain exercise number 32 again?”, Jane asked. The girl was sitting in the back of the class and Maura turned around to make sure she wasn’t hallucinating.  
There she was. The girl with the dark untamed locks and eyes where you could get lost.  
How was it that Maura never had noticed that they were in the same class?  
To be fair she never participated much in any out of school activities and was sitting in the front row but shouldn’t she have noticed a girl like Jane?

Mr. Davis looked confused as well, as if he had never seen her.  
“May I ask what you are doing in my class, Miss…?”, he asked and suddenly the whole classroom fell quiet.

Jane blushed and Maura felt her heart skip a beat.

“Jane, Jane Rizzoli. I had to switch classes and thought principal Darwen would have informed you by now.”, she said, and her voice sounded strong.  
The whole class was now looking at the teacher who searched through his papers to figure out why there was a new girl sitting in his classroom.  
Finally, he found a note, just a little piece of paper, which could be lost very easily.  
“Ah, I see. Well, Miss Rizzoli since you managed to sneak in without any introductions, I think it would be best if you come to the front and change that. “, Mr. Davis pointed at the spot in front of the blackboard.

With a sigh Jane got up from her chair and walked over.  
“Alright. My name is Jane Rizzoli.”, she said fulfilling her task. She was about to get back to her place as the teacher smiled and asked her to tell us a bit more.

“Well I am part of the baseball-team and like sports overall.”  
The dark-haired girl looked at the teacher clearly wanting to go back and finally he nodded.

“Thank you, Miss Rizzoli. Let’s see where we are going to place you.”, he said and the terror on Janes face was more than visible.  
Maura understood that she most likely just wanted to sit in the back, get through the day and return to her friend during lunch-brake.

“Oh, I know. Miss Isles.”, Mr. Davis continued,” I want Miss Rizzoli to sit next to you. If she has any questions, I wish that you will help her.”

Obediently the blonde made space for the other girl who went to the back of the class to get her belongings before sitting down on the place next to Maura.  
They settled and Mr. Davis continued with his teaching.

Having Jane so close brought a lot of distraction to Maura’s day. First of all that girl had a strange habit of twirling her pencil, furthermore her notes were rather irritating as they looked like randomly written words and sentences and least but not last every time she pushed her hair back the smell of lavender was present.  
Even with all that the blonde tried her best to follow what was happening in front of her. Mr. Davis was explaining some exercise clearly enjoying his subject way too much as the school-bell finally rang.

The whole class was happy that Maths was over, and the teacher only managed to tell them their homework before they started to talk and no longer paying any attention to him.

They would have a ten minutes break now and then continue with the last lesson for today.  
Maura decided to just start with the work Mr. Davis had told them to do, instead of becoming part of whatever discussion her classmates were having.

She was almost finished with the first one as she felt eyes on her.  
Jane was watching her closely her elbow on the table so that her hand could hold up her head which was turned Maura’s way.

“May I help you?”, the blonde asked irritated.

“Oh, don’t mind me. I am just fascinated.”, Jane answered, smiling slightly.

“Fascinated?”, Maura asked still only glancing to her right side.  
“Yes. I mean I have never met anyone who would so gladly do their homework that they start doing it at school, DURING a break. “, Jane chuckled.

“Well, since the discussion about which superstar is more attractive is definitely not stimulating any interest of mine, I rather do something with my time than sit around looking at people.”, the blonde snapped feeling laughed at for doing what she was good at.

“If you must know, I am stimulating an interest of mine.”, the girl winked irritating Maura even more, so instead of saying anything else she shook her head and turned back to her homework.

She managed to finish half of the exercises before the bell rang again and the next teacher entered the room.

Jane twirled her pencil and Maura fought to pay attention when all she wanted to do was snatch that piece of plastic from the other girl’s hand.

After what seemed like an eternity the bell signalled the end of the school-day.

The whole class packed up their belongings and almost run out of the room. Maura took her time placing everything were it belonged in her backpack. Jane was watching her again, but the blonde didn’t say anything.

They left the room together, well not really. Maura was going first, and Jane followed, like a lost puppy would follow their new owner.  
  


Since they bother had to go to detention Jane followed her the whole way. As they entered the room Frost was already sitting on the same place as yesterday drawing something on a piece of paper.  
He looked up to great the girls with a bright smile and a slight wave with his hand.

To Maura’s dislike Hoyt was there as well, seated at his usual table which would be the one behind Jane. He smiled too, but all the blonde could feel was disgust.  
She walked past him and took her place at the back like always. To her surprise Jane had followed her even to the back and was now taking the seat next to her.

Hoyt didn’t look happy about that change and was about to open his mouth as Coach Korsak entered the room.

“Well if this isn’t the group of students I was looking for.”, he greeted them. “Principal Darwen asked me to help you kids loose some of the energy that you seem to have piled up. Everyone grab your stuff. Detention will be in the gym today.”

Jane and Frost looked happy as they almost sprinted to the front.  
Maura liked sport but she was never good at it. She liked yoga which she did once a week to calm down and collect herself. And sometimes she would go for a run through the park.

“Coach Korsak, would it be possible for me to stay here and maybe do my homework or something?”, Maura asked.

“You wanna stay and to your homework?”, he asked, and Maura nodded hopeful that he would understand.

“Sorry no can do. Let’s move!”, he clapped his hands and laughed.

Hoyt was joining the other two students already and now only the blonde was left who took her belongings and made her way over as well.

“Maybe it won’t be too bad.”, she thought as the group walked to the gym.

The girls went into the girl’s changeroom and the boys in theirs to get changed. Korsak had told them to be ready in five minutes or they would have to run three laps around the gym.

Maura pulled out her sports clothes from her locker and started to change. She was pulling up her pants as Jane stepped into her row already completely dressed. She wore some knee long shorts which hung loose on her hips and a black tank top. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail.  
She looked stunning. The blonde had to pull herself together and finish dressing without glancing over all the time but that top clung to Jane’s body showcasing every muscle the girl had.

Finally, she managed to tie her shoes and they went to find the Coach in the gym-hall.

“Nice job girls. You were even faster then the boys.”, he said looking at his watch.

Frost and Hoyt emerged from their changeroom a minute later.

“Alright, since everyone is here, we shall begin.”, Korsak said, “First let’s jog three rounds.”

He blew into his whistle which was hanging around his neck and the students started.

Jane and Frost were running next to each other making the light jog they were supposed to be doing into a race.  
Hoyt was following Jane his eyes lock on the movement of muscles.

Maura concentrated on her breathing like she always did when she was running alone blending out her surroundings.

It didn’t take them long to finish and with quickened breaths they stood in front of Korsak who clearly enjoyed it.

“Alright. Let’s stretch next and then I prepared some nice exercises for you.”, he announced, and Maura wasn’t sure if she liked the sound of that.

While they stretched, he pulled out a dummy from the room with the equipment.  
“Since some of you like to pick a fight, I thought it would be a great idea to introduce you to my friend Joe. I want you to punch him as hard as you can.”, the coach said before demonstrating what he wanted them to do.

The dummy moved because of the force of the punch and Maura felt a new sort of respect for the man. He might not look like the most muscular, but he clearly had some power in his body.

First Frost tried it. He swung his fist and Maura heard his knuckles crack as his hand met the material of the dummy which only moved slightly.  
“Good one.”, Korsak praised,” Next time make sure to use the force of your body as well.”

Hoyt tried next. Laughing as the dummy moved a little more then Frost had managed. He clearly enjoyed that exercise.

Korsak only nodded and Maura thought she saw concern in the coach’s eyes. Something was up with that Hoyt and even the adults knew.

It was Maura’s turn and she stepped in front of the dummy. She clenched her fist and was about to do what she was told to, when Jane appeared to her right side taking her fist into her hands.

“You shouldn’t put your thumb inside. If you do so you might break it by accident. Make a fist like this so you are less lightly to hurt yourself.”, the girl said moving Maura’s finger into another position, than Jane stepped back.

It took the blonde a second to collect her thoughts again the small touch had sent some kind of electric shock through her nervous system.

She shook her head and returned to her task. She punched the dummy as hard as possible, but it didn’t even move the slightest.

“Good try.”, Korsak said, “Your turn Jane.”

Jane stepped into the place Maura had been standing only seconds before. Her stance looked professional and when her fist met the cheek of the dummy it shook even more than by any of the other students.  
“Nice punch, Rizzoli.”, the coach praised looking proud. Maura was stunned by how controlled Jane had raised her fist and stroke the hit.  
  


“Alright. Next, I want you to kick as high as possible.”, the coach ordered.  
Each of them kicked the dummy but again Jane managed to outshine all of them. She managed to kick the face of the dummy making it shake because of the force she used.

Maura was more than impressed. She was fascinated.

_____________________________________________________________

After kicking and punching the dummy multiple times Korsak decided it would be good to run another three rounds and then finishing up with some push-ups, and burpees.

Maura tried her best with the push-ups and burpees, but she was at her limit fast while Jane and Frost managed the exercises with ease.

Hoyt also fought hard to impress the dark-haired girl who had no eyes for him but somehow had her eyes locked on the blonde. The girl was breathing hard and wanted to sit down or just get some rest. Jane noticed the girl turning pale and moved fast catching a very exhausted Maura.

She grabbed her waist and pulled one arm around her neck to hold the girl up who’s legs just gave out.  
The coach looked concerned, worried that he had pushed his student to far, but Maura smiled and explained that she would just need to sit down for a moment.  
“Alright. Jane take care of her and get her some water.”, Korsak ordered and Jane nodded walking both of them out of the gym into the changing room where she sat down the blonde onto one of the benches.

After confirming that Maura could be left alone for a second Jane went and grabbed a water-bottle for the girl.

Thankful the blonde swallowed a few big gulps before placing down the bottle next to her on the bench.

“You okay?”, Jane asked clearly concerned.

“Yes, thank you. I think the burpees were a little too much for me.”, Maura answered looking up with a shy smile.  
“Don’t worry. Burpees are tough and I think you did pretty well for someone who would prefer to do homework.”, the blonde knew that Jane wanted to cheer her up.  
“You managed without problem.”, Maura grumbled, and Jane moved closer trying to understand what she was saying.

“What was that?”  
“Oh, nothing. Just thank you for the water.”, Maura blushed.

“No prob. You feeling better? Think we can go back?”, Jane asked her brows furrowed in question.

“I should be fine. You can go ahead, and I’ll join you in a few minutes.”, Maura answered but Jane still looked worried and bothered by the thought of leaving the other girl by herself. Instead of leaving Jane sat down next to the blonde pulling her left foot up to place it on the bench, slinging her arms around the leg.

“I’ll just stay here with you for now.”

Maura’s heart fluttered by the display of worry and a part of her thought it was nice to have someone who cared but the thought fell into thin air as she watched Jane take the water-bottle, she had been drinking from, and leading it to her lips to take a few sips herself.

No one has ever shared a drink with her. Well, her parents had, but that was definitely different from the warm feeling she got right now in her belly by the thought of Jane drinking from the same bottle.

She watched in awe how the dark-haired girl swallowed before putting down the bottle again.

As Jane noticed Maura’s staring, she blushed: “Sorry. I am used to share with my brothers. I can get you a new one.”

The blonde had two choices now and instead of telling Jane that she could get herself a new one, she took the bottle and drank from it without hesitation. She had no control over her body in that moment, but she didn’t mind especially when she saw the look Jane gave her. They locked eyes while Maura took another sip.

Whatever moment they had shared it was destroyed by a loud knock on the wooden locker room-door.

“Are you two alright in there?”, Coach Korsak’s voice came form the other side.

“Everything is fine. We’ll be out in a minute.”, Jane answered not breaking eye contact with Maura.

“Alright.”, they could hear steps moving away and Maura cleared her throat.

“We should probably go back.”, she said softly turning away but she could see Jane nod before getting up.

A hand was offered to her, which she accepted, and was pulled up to her feet. 

The both girls didn’t exchange any more words and returned to the gym-hall where the boys were running laps again.

The rest of the afternoon passed quick. Coach Korsak keeping a close eye on Maura not to be to tough on her.

When detention was finally over the students went into the locker-rooms and got changed before being going home.  
Maura hurried and managed to escape the room that seemed to small for her and Jane now.  
She didn’t even look back before practically running off.  
Her driver was waiting outside, and she jumped into the car not wasting one moment.

The water-bottle Jane and she had shared clenched in on hand she spent the ride home thinking about what the hell had happened today.


	5. Chapter 5

“Where are your thoughts?”, Arthur asked. He had won the second time in a row which never happened.  
Maura looked up snapping out of her daze.  
“Well?”, he waited for a reply.

“Sorry. I suppose I am just tired. Coach Korsak had us run laps today.”, the blonde stated, in mind that she would not mention the things she really was thinking about. A dazzling smile and beautiful eyes. Dark brown hair she would love to push her hands through.

“I never understood why they would make the students run laps. It is important to stay fit and healthy but forcing someone to run as if they are getting chased is just wrong.”, her father leaned back in his chair crossing his arms in front of his chest.

“It is part of our educational system and I am not mad about it. I think some students really benefit from the opportunity that doing sports gives them.”

Her father smiled: “Yes, those athletes.” His voice was full of sarcasm, but Maura answered as if he meant every word.  
“And some of them are extraordinary. They show over and over what the human body is capable of. And thanks to their scholarship they are even able to pursue their dream.”

Her father noticed that there was no use in arguing with his daughter and only smiled nodding his head. He had always known how passionate Maura could be and was amazed by the fire she had to fight for her opinion. Like Constance, the women in his life knew what they wanted and if their minds were set there was nothing that could change it.

Maura looked at her watch noticing that it was already late, and she should probably go to bed soon. Her father seemed tired as well which was one reason more to end their conversation.  
“I think I should go take a shower before heading to bed.”, Maura said getting up from her chair.

Getting close to her father she leaned down and pressed a light kiss onto his cheek.

“Alright. Then sleep tight and don’t let the bedbugs bite you.”, he joked earning a slight chuckle form the blonde who shook her head in amusement.

The planed shower turned into a relaxing bath since she felt her muscles beginning to feel sore from the workout she had today. The hot water would help to sooth the ache that was already building in her legs. Maura had added some essential oil she had found in the back of her bathroom cabinet not knowing the smell would remind her of Jane. Lavender.

Maura indulged in the thoughts that came to her mind, closing her eyes and sinking deeper into the hot water. She didn’t know why but the other girl would not leave her mind.

After the skin of her hands and feet started to wrinkle, she decided it was time to leave the warmth and finally go to bed like she had planned earlier.

The steam had fogged up the mirror and Maura used the edge of her towel to wipe it clean.  
She didn’t recognize the woman looking back at her, cheeks glowing red and eyes filled with emotions she didn’t understand.

It only took a few seconds and the mirror was covered again. This time she didn’t bother wiping it, instead she hurried to dry off her body and slipped into her pyjamas, before opening a window and moving to her bedroom.

Laying in bed she looked up at the ceiling until sleep took finally over.

\----------------------------

Jane looked at the girl sitting beside her. The blonde had already finished the exercises given by their teacher and was now continuing with the next page while Jane herself was stuck on number two. She had never liked Maths and now they had letters instead of numbers which threw her off completely. When in hell would they ever need any of this in real life? Probably never but still they were forced to learn it and even worse supposed to understand it.

Somehow Maura didn’t seem to mind all the letters and strange signs. She was twirling a strand of honey brown locks between the finger of one hand while she was writing down the answers with the other. She was completely lost in her thoughts. She was adorable.

Suddenly the blonde turned her head looking directly at Jane as if she had felt her staring.  
“Can I help you?”, she whispered, looking at Janes notebook where her previous answer was crossed out.

“Hm?”, the dark-haired girl questioned too lost in her own thoughts to understand what Maura meant. She followed Maura’s eyes and finally understood that the girl was asking her if she needed help with the exercises.

“Yeah. I don’t really get Maths.”, Jane whispered back, leaning a little closer.

“It’s not that hard.”, Maura stated smiling slightly. It was the cutest thing Jane had ever seen and she couldn’t help but smile back.

The next few minutes the blonde tried to explain how to solve the exercises, but the other girl didn’t manage to listen completely too enchanted.  
When the bell finally rang signalling the end of the lesson Janes head was spinning with thoughts.

Maura looked at her and she must have noticed the confusion and offered: “Maybe we can continue during detention? That is if we are allowed to and don’t have to do any tasks.”

“That would be great.”, Jane smiled. She couldn’t wait

_________________________________________________________

The rest of the lessons passed without any other interaction. Maura concentrated as good as possible on what the teachers were talking about, but her eyes drifted over to her desk neighbour.

Jane seemed to have problems in focusing on any of the lessons, always doodling something into her notebook or fidgeting with her pens. The teachers had to tell her to stop a few times and it even got to the point were Maura felt a little annoyed.

During lunch, the honey-blonde was seated at a table alone, far away from all the groups and chatting students. When suddenly three people appeared in front of her.

“Hey. How you doing?”, Bruce said. He was tall and build like a closet but didn’t have a lot in his head. For the football team it was enough that he had muscles and the strength of an ox. He was standing in the middle. To his right was Claire his girlfriend and captain of the cheer club. As always, she was chewing gum, her hair in a high ponytail and her outfit and make-up on point. Claire had locked her arm into Bruce’s pushing up against him as close as possible.  
  


On the left was Terrence. His golden locks shined in the neon cafeteria lights and if she hadn’t known better, she would have thought that he was an angel, but she knew better.

Instead of answering Bruce’s question she kept on eating her sandwich.

“Come on. Don’t be like that.”, Terrence said leaning closer until his hands were on the table.

“I don’t think I have anything to discuss with you.”, Maura stated, not caring to look up.

“Considering that you wanted to get us a little something.”, Terrence continued. He smiled and Maura shivered. There was nothing nice or warm about that smile.

“As you might be aware of, I got caught.”, Maura answered keeping her voice down so that no one would hear.

“Did the Misses McPerfect get into trouble?”, Claire laughed her voice filled with amusement. The girl looked at Bruce as if she was expecting praise or something, like a dog waiting for its treat.

“Even though you got caught but did you get it?”, Bruce asked looking deep into Maura’s eyes.

“No.”, she answered with clenched teeth, “and you can consider yourself happy that I don’t think ratting out is something anyone should do.”

“What do you mean?”, Claire said innocently, “We had nothing to do with you breaking into the teacher’s lounge and trying to copy the answers to the next quizzes.”

“And furthermore, who would believe you? Do you really think they would care about anything you have to say?”, the cheerleader laughed.

How had it been possible for Maura to be this blind as to not see how evil and toxic those three in front of her were?

“Since you didn’t manage to get what was expected of you, I don’t think we have any other use for you.”, Bruce said and looked as if he was thinking about something, “But maybe you could get us something else we need.”

“Sorry Bruce, I don’t want to have anything to do with you.”, Maura interrupted him and turned her focus back onto her lunch even though she was no longer hungry.

“What? You think you are better than us or something?”, Terrence asked moving even closer.   
She could feel his anger.

“I just want to focus on my studies.”, Maura tried to sooth the situation which might escalate any minute.

“And I thought you wanted to have friends. You seemed real needy and practically jumped at the opportunity to help us.”

It hurt hearing those words. They cut through her heart and she wished that they had never started to talk to her. Yes, she had agreed to help them but at that moment she had thought they would be friends, only to find out they didn’t care if she would get into trouble. They didn’t even come to ask how she was doing earlier. And that was it, they didn’t care about her, she had been a tool to get what they wanted.   
Maura sat quietly.

“What? Nothing to say?”, Terrence laughed. His hand reached out to lift her face. His touch felt strange and all she wanted to do was pull back.

“I think everything has been said. If you could please leave me alone now?”, Maura tried, prepared for any reaction. She didn’t think that another voice would appear behind her.

“Hey Maur. Is that seat taken?”, Jane asked and didn’t wait for an answer as she pushed her body forcefully between Terrence and the blonde.   
The girl placed down her lunch and smiled at Maura reassuring.

“Oh, and who are you?”, Terrence asked clearly unhappy about the intruder.

“Jane. Jane Rizzoli. I am Maura’s friend not that it concerns you in any way.”, the brunette answered looking straight at him.

“Well, if you mind, we had a private conversation. So, skedaddle!”

“Sorry. No can do. But I think your conversation was already finished.”, Jane stood her ground not backing down the slightest.   
Maura watched the scene in front of her not sure what to do. Before she could do anything, Terrence reached out grabbing Jane by her collar.   
“I said skedaddle!”, he practically shoved his face into Jane’s, but she didn’t even blink.

The blonde looked around worried that the other students were watching but nobody seemed to pay any attention to what was going on at her table.

Bruce was still standing behind Terrence with Claire clinging to his arm. He only acted if Terrence told him to clearly not the alpha of their pack.   
Claire only smiled and continued to chew her gum mouth slightly open.

“Oh, I heard you but as I said. NO WAY!”, Jane said the last two words a little louder and slowly as if an idiot like him couldn’t understand otherwise.   
“NOW, RELEASE ME!”, she practically growled.

The boy pushed her away, making the chair shake.   
“It looks like the little kitten got herself a pit bull.”, he laughed and turned to his friends proud of his joke.

When he turned back his right face was met with Jane’s fist. And Maura let out a sound of surprise.

She could hear the sound of something breaking and then she saw blood running down the boy’s face.

He cursed in pain bringing his hand up to stop the blood from his nose.   
“You are going to regret this bitch!”, he growled raising his hand ready to punch back. Jane dodged him and countered with a punch to his stomach making him buckle over.

“I think you should apologize to Maura.”, the girl said, while it seemed all hell broke loose in the cafeteria. There were students watching, others took out their phones to take a video and a few of them just fled the scene. Maybe they were going to get a teacher or just didn’t want to see what would happen next.

“You bitch.”, Bruce no interfered lifting his fist but Jane moved fast, grabbing it and twisted. He went to his knees in pain and the girl delivered a punch to his chin.   
Claire was now screaming in fear going down next to her boyfriend.

With the two guys on the ground and Jane standing in the middle of it all Maura couldn’t help but be amazed by the strength the girl showed.

Jane kneeled down next to Terrence: “I normally hate to repeat myself, but I make an exception. Apologize.”

His face was bloody and his eyes teary as he looked at the blonde: “Sorry.”

“That’s good. And now I want you to listen closely. Maura is a friend of mine. If you hurt her, you will have to deal with me. Understood?”, Jane growled low so that only he and her could hear.

He shook his hear in agreement clearly scared.

Maura just sat and watched, mouth slightly open in shock when suddenly the group of students parted and Mrs. Darwen appeared.

“WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?”, she demanded after scanning the scene she continued.  
“Jane Rizzoli and Maura Isles in my office NOW! And Bruce and Terrence go to the nurse to get some ice.”

“Well, it was fun while it lasted.”, Jane grumbled as she grabbed her stuff and an apple from her tray.   
She was about to leave but turned to the blonde.   
“You coming?”, and there it was that damn dazzling smile and Maura grabbed her belongings before following without thinking.

She could hear the boys groan in pain, but she didn’t care. She kept her eyes on the girl in front.


	6. Chapter 6

They were seated in the principal’s office across from Mrs. Darwen who soon made her anger known.

“Why? Why is it always you, Miss Rizzoli?”

Maura looked at the girl. She didn’t seem to mind being in trouble. “Maybe she is used to it?”, the blonde thought. She on the other hand only had been getting into trouble once and never liked any kind of confrontation.

“I thought we had talked about this. You can’t go around and beat up other students.”, Mrs. Darwen looked at her computer screen, “This has been the fourth time already!”  
The woman shook her head before turning to the girls again.

“Violence is no way of solving anything.”, the word sounded like the one you would find in a flyer for troubled children.  
Maura couldn’t understand, why the principal didn’t ask what had happened to make Jane react in such manner. She only saw the final product of the girl standing over two bleeding boys and a crying girl.

“She only helped me.”, the blonde said, wanting to clear the situation.

“Miss Isles, I appreciate that you want to help Jane, but I have to explain to the parents why their children where bleeding on the ground in the cafeteria.”

“But Mrs. Darwen…”, she tried again, but Jane interrupted her.  
“It’s alright.”

Maura looked at the girl in disbelieve. Why not defend herself? Instead she was leaning back in her chair completely relaxed as if she was used to it.

“It is not alright.”, Maura said getting upset. The girl only wanted to help her and now that stupid Terrence and his friends were supposed to be the victims? That’s just wrong.

“Alright. Tell me what happened.”, Mrs. Darwen said leaning forward to place her elbows on her table and crossing her arms.

“Terrence, Bruce and Claire came over to my table. I told them they should leave me alone, but Terrence wouldn’t listen. When Jane came, she got between him and me. After she told him to leave as well, he got angry and tried to hit her. She was faster. She was only protecting herself and me.”  
After Maura was finished Mrs Darwen looked at Jane.

“Is that true?”, she asked.  
Jane looked at her and nodded.

“Well, if this is the case, I will have a talk with the other students. But even though you didn’t start the fight, you engaged. I can’t let you off the hook that easily. One more week of detention for you Miss Rizzoli.”, Mrs Darwen started to type on her computer, “And for you Miss Isles. You didn’t engage but you are involved. I’ll let you off with a warning for now. Next time you have a problem come find me or a teacher.”

The blonde nodded feeling relieve that they didn’t get into any more trouble.  
The other girl was still silent and stuck on her chair.

“Alright. You are dismissed.”, the principal looked up and the girls left their seats and made their way back to the classroom.

They didn’t say a word and the rest of the classes went by in the blink of an eye.

In the end Maura found herself back in detention. Jane was sitting next to her and after some teacher told them what they had to do for today both girls started with their work.

It felt strange to sit next to the raven-haired girl since they hadn’t talked about what had happened during lunch. Why had Jane fought for her, protected her from those students? They hadn’t talked much before the incident, only during lessons and the sport activities of yesterday.

In that moment Maura decided it was time to figure out what was going on but before she could even open her mouth Jane turned to her.

“About earlier. Sorry if I made you uncomfortable.”, the girl whispered not wanting anyone else to hear. Hoyt glanced over occasionally.

“You didn’t. More of the opposite. I wanted to thank you for helping me.”, Maura said turning towards Jane. They were close, what the girl hadn’t noticed before, but now their faces were only a few inches apart. Her heart skipped a beat and her cheeks flushed.

“I was worried you would be afraid of me. I mean, after seeing me like that.”, Jane said, and Maura could feel the heat of her breath. Her eyes wandered down to lips she had dreamed of.

The blonde couldn’t say a word her mouth felt dry.

“Hey, Jane?”, Frost turned around on his chair and the girls hurried apart.

“Yeah?”, the girl answered, clearing her throat and blushing slightly.

“You got the answer for question 6 f?”, he continued not even giving any attention to the fact that the girls both glanced at each other for a split second before Jane continued with their conversation.

“Nah, sorry.”, the girl said. She didn’t even know what the question was about, but she sure hadn’t gotten this far to be able to help him.

“Damn… Why in the world do we need to know all that stuff in the first place?”, he questioned rubbing his forehead in frustration. Maura looked down on her worksheets. She had already answered that question and since Frost really seemed to suffer doing his task she decided to help.

“A grown human has normally 32 teeth. And the human body holds 205 bones.”, the blonde said while looking down at her papers. When she looked back up, she noticed the two students staring at her.

“Sorry. I thought you wanted the answers.”, she said blushing.

“Yeah… Thanks.”, Frost slowly looked towards Jane who still stared at the other girl.   
Finally, the dark-haired girl spoke: “How do you know that?”

“I read a lot.”, Maura mumbled shyly. She knew that most students didn’t like spending their time with a book but preferred going out with friends. She had seen groups of girls walk through different clothing stores and talk about boys or their favourite pop-star.

Jane noticed the other girl’s discomfort and smiled:” I wish I knew stuff like that. You know it would really help getting my grades up.”

“As if you could remember something like that.”, Frost laughed and received a punch to his shoulder in return. He yelped in pain looking like a hurt puppy.

Maura couldn’t help but chuckle amused by the display in front of her. Both friends seemed to completely trust each other feeling confident to make jokes without being afraid to hurt their feelings.

“You think that’s funny? Well Miss Smartypants how about you teach me since I am that stupid?”, Jane questioned her eyes sparkling.

“I could do that, and it would probably be good if Frost joins us.”, Maura answered completely serious making the other girl laugh out loud.   
“Did you hear that Frost? She thinks you are as stupid as I am.”  
Now it was Frost turn to punch Jane’s shoulder lightly before joining her laugher.

Maura didn’t know what to say. Considering Frost had troubles answering the given questions it would be beneficial for him to learn with them. And for some it is easier to learn in a small group than by themselves. Maura knew that both played in a team sport and that told her it would be good to study together.

“Alright. I think it’s settled then. Maura will help us.”, Jane finally said after calming down.

“Nice. Maybe my mum can be proud of my grades from now on.”, Frost said before taking his papers and turning his chair completely around.   
The three of them built a small circle now sharing a desk. Jane moved a little to make room for the boy’s stuff, allowing him to write comfortably.

Maura didn’t like the distance which came with that change. She had felt the dark-haired girl’s body heat before and now she felt a cold shiver running down her spine.

It wasn’t only the cold that made her hair stand up, she felt eyes linger on her. Looking around she noticed Hoyt who watched her closely.   
This boy really gave her the creeps. Thankfully he was no friend of Jane as far as the blonde knew.

“Alright. Let’s begin.”, Jane said pulling the other girl out of her thoughts.   
They spent the rest of detention answering their work sheets and when the teacher came back, they had finished everything, and Maura even thought that the other two students had learned something during their time.

She had felt Hoyts eyes over and over again, but he never talked. Maybe he was too angry since Jane was seated next to her and not in front of him like she normally would.

When they finally were released and sent home the blonde didn’t linger behind or hurried out. They left together and she listened to the conversation between Jane and Frost. They talked about the upcoming match and Maura enjoyed just following.

“So, Maura, are you coming to the game?”, Jane asked her cheeks slightly blushing but maybe the blonde had imagined it since it was so lightly.

“Not sure. I normally don’t attend events like that.”, Maura answered without hesitation.

“Oh, come on. You never watched a game? Not even once?”, the dark-haired girl looked at her in disbelief.   
When Maura didn’t say anything, she continued: “Then it is about time to change that. The game is next weekend, remember the date.”

They had reached the outside and Frost said his goodbyes before heading home. The girls stood at the bottom of the stairs.

“I’ll see if I can come.”, Maura said not wanting to make any promises she might not be able to keep.

“Alright.”, Jane agreed not wanting to push the other girl.

They fell silent. After a minute Jane opened her mouth again: “We could exchange numbers if you want to. It would be easier to communicate, you know, when we can study together.”

Maura nodded: “That’s a good idea. My number is 03562 84627391”

“Give me a sec.”, Jane took out her mobile, “Alright. Repeat.”

“03562 84627391”, Maura said again slower while the other girl typed.

“Great.”, the dark-haired girl put the device into her back pocket and smiled.

At that moment, a car pulled up and Maura had no choice but to say her goodbyes and get in.   
Jane waved while she drove off.

Suddenly her phone rang and hurried to grab it.

“Isles.”, she answered not knowing the number.

“Hey. I just had to make sure you weren’t giving me some fake number.”, a raspy voice came through.   
Maura couldn’t help but smile at that statement.  
“Good thinking, but I wouldn’t do that.”, she answered.   
“I figured that, but maybe I just wanted to hear your voice again.”

The blonde didn’t know what to answer. Her cheeks felt warm and she was sure they had turned bright red.

“Alright… I got to go now.”, the girl on the other side said,” See you tomorrow, Maur.”

“See you.”, Maura said still smiling and her voice shaky. She hoped Jane didn’t notice.

The rest of the day passed without any more events, except that Maura couldn’t wait for the next day to come.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for reading my story and your support. Reading your comments and seeing your kudos makes me very happy. 
> 
> I am sorry that it took me so long to update this chapter. Unfortunately I won't be able to update as frequently as before since university is starting soon and I am trying to find a job and a new place to live. Hopefully I manage a chapter per week.


	7. Chapter 7

“Psst, you okay?”, Jane whispered.   
Startled Maura shook her head waking up from her daydream.   
“Hm, sorry?”, she asked looking at the dark-haired girl, who chuckled.   
“Well, whatever it is, you have on your mind, it seems to be something good.”

“The girl isn’t wrong.”, Maura thought, remembering the place her mind had been wandering to for the last couple of minutes.   
She had imagined soft lips and a voice raspy and delicious saying her name.

“Just doing some thinking.”, Maura replied, practically not lying, since she had been thinking a lot lately.

“I figure it has nothing to do with school”, Jane whispered looking around to make sure the teacher wasn’t paying attention to them, “You know you were smiling.”

Maura blushed feeling heat rush to her cheeks. She hadn’t known that she had been smiling.

“Nothing to be embarrassed about. I think it was kind of cute.”, Jane said noticing the rosy cheeks.  
It was meant to make Maura feel better but instead it made her heart skip a beat and she didn’t know what to say. The girl thought she was cute. She had no idea how to handle the situation.

Thankfully she didn’t have to answer since the teacher had noticed them talking and turned his attention towards the girls.

“Miss Rizzoli, Miss Isles? Do I bore you?”, he asked, the whole class fell silent and all eyes were on them.

“Not at all sir.”, Jane tried but was interrupted by a sharp hand movement telling her to be quiet.

“If you both can have a private conversation during my lesson, I am sure you wouldn’t mind answering the following questions. Right?”, the teacher continued.   
Jane’s eyes widened since she had absolutely no idea what he had been talking about for the last few minutes.

“Since we have been talking about our United States. What monument symbolises the United States?”, he asked, and Jane felt relieve. She knew that.

“The Statue of Liberty or sometimes referred to as Lady Liberty.”, the girl answered.

“Right. Where is it placed?”, the teacher continued.   
“It’s placed on Ellis Island, near New York City Harbor.”  
“You seem to have listened to some of it. Let’s see. What does the statue commemorate?”, he smiled.

“It commemorates the signing of the United States Declaration of Independence.”, Jane felt proud to be able to answer his questions even if she knew they weren’t that hard in the first place.

“Alright. You seem to have your facts down Miss Rizzoli.”, he turned slightly looking at Maura, “Now, how about you Miss Isles?”

Maura didn’t answer, knowing what would come next.   
The teacher never liked her. She had corrected him more than once during a lesson which his pride couldn’t take. After that she had made better use of her time than trying to get his facts right.

“Alright. Who gifted the statue to the United States?”, he asked smiling.  
“The people of France in 1886 to represent the friendship between the two countries”, she answered without hesitation.

“Who sculptured it?”, he asked.

“Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi born in 1834 in Colmar, France. He died because of tuberculosis in 1904.”, Maura made sure to pronounce his name in perfect French. 

He smiled but there was nothing friendly about it.  
“How was the statue build?”

“It is made of a covering of pure copper, left to weather to a natural blue-green patina. The framework is made of steel, but it was originally puddled iron. The flame of the torch is coated in gold leaf with was originally made of copper and later altered to hold glass panes. The pedestal is a rectangular stonework. And the Foundation is an old star fort in the shape of an irregular eleven-pointed star. It is 151 ft tall but with the pedestal and foundation it is 305 ft.”, the girl didn’t even stop to catch her breath and the class fell speechless.

Jane was watching her the whole time and after Maura had finished, she felt a little uncomfortable with all eyes on her.

The teacher was about to say something, when finally, the bell rang releasing the class. The students started to pack up their things.

Maura didn’t move watching the teacher trying to tell his class what their homework would be.

“Let’s get out of here.”, Jane said pulling Maura slightly on her arm. The girl followed without protest; she didn’t look back as the teacher said her name. She didn’t care if she would get in trouble.

After they had rounded some corners and went up the staircase Jane finally stopped.   
“I think we are safe now.”, the girl said smiling brightly, “Man, you really showed him. You are some kind of genie?”

Maura didn’t answer. She had heard people say that she was smart and often they claimed that a girl her age shouldn’t correct the grown ups even if they made mistakes.   
She never liked that since making mistakes is a way of learning and if no one would help them to get it right, they will be wrong for the rest of the time.

Janes smile faded a little seeing the reaction of the other girl. She had always an eye for body language and right now she could tell that the smaller girl felt uncomfortable.

“You know, I think I chose right when I asked you to be my tutor. My mum will definitely stop bugging me about my grades. Then she will have more time to nag my bothers.”, She laughed trying to lighten the mood.

“You have brothers?”, Maura asked her eyes sparkling in curiosity. As an only child she often imagined what it would be like to have a younger sibling she could teach or an older that would protect her and showed her how the world works.

“Yeah. Two to be exact. Tommy and Frankie. They are both younger and a pain in my but. Always up to no good if you ask me but my mum loves them unconditionally and I think they will be her little boys forever.”

Maura imagined how the two brothers would look like. Brown eyes like Jane and probably tall too. And would their smile be as soft and bright?

“Do you have any siblings?”, Jane asked after a minute that none of them had spoken.

“Unfortunately, I don’t have any siblings.”, Maura stated matter of fact.

“Sometimes I wish I were an only child but then my mum would be all over me all the time and that woman can definitely drive you mad.”

Maura thought about her mother. She had learned to be independent at a young age and since she was adopted a part of her didn’t want to ask for too much.

“My mum would love you.”, Jane continued, “She wants me to be come a doc or something but I don’t think that’s something I want to do for the rest of my life. I like helping people and I definitely want to be active.”

The blonde had thought about her future a lot. Which school she would go to and to be honest saving lives didn’t sound bad.

“So, do you have any idea what you want to do?”, Jane asked.

“I’m not sure. I think doctor is somewhere on my list.”, the blonde answered.

She looked around and noticed that they were alone. They stood at the top of the staircase where only a few people would go. Some Students met up here to be alone and make out. The thought made her blush, and she hoped the other girl wouldn’t notice.

“You can always stitch me up.”, Jane said, and Maura could have sworn the girl slightly winked at her.

She felt hot and some kind of urge wanted her to get closer, but she didn’t not sure who Jane would react. As far as the blonde knew the raven-haired girl could be her only somewhat friend and she sure as hell wouldn’t risk that.   
Instead she looked at her watch. They still had ten minutes until the next class would start.

“You trying to run again?”, Jane asked clearly looking through the smaller girl, “You know I really would like to get to know you better.”

“I am not running.”, Maura tried to defend herself and as soon as the words left her lips, she knew there would be a rash on her arms soon. She was running, afraid to scare Jane away.

“You know I am really good at noticing lies.”

“I just think we should go back to class that we can be on time.”, this time it wasn’t a lie. Maura liked to be punctual.

“Alright. I’ll let you go this time but the next time…”, Jane didn’t finish. She walked past Maura bumping lightly into her side on purpose. The small contact made her heart skip.

\-----------------------------------------

During the next break they went outside to get some fresh air. Whatever they talked about was something simple. Like favourite food and colour. Small things.

They were standing under a big tree and in the corner of her eye Maura noticed three people. They were standing as far away as possible from the two girls. When she turned her head to get a better look, Jane noticed and followed.

“Aren’t that those punks from the cafeteria?”, she questioned.

Maura had trouble telling since Terrence’s face was severely bruised and had a sling around his neck with his right arm placed inside.   
Bruce had a mean black eye and Claire had definitely a new haircut. The cut looked strange. Way to short.

“I think so.”, the blonde said.

“They look awful!”, Jane stated, “Maybe I should go over and apologise?”  
She was about to get closer when Maura hold her back.   
“I don’t think you did that. They might have some bruises but nothing this severe.”

“Then even more the reason to talk to them.”

Jane didn’t wait. She just walked over, and Maura followed like a puppy.

A few feet away the girl said: “Hey! What happened to you three?”

All their heads turned towards them. And to Maura’s surprise they looked scared.

“Nothing.”, they answered together and started to move away.

“Come on. Those bruises look bad.”

“It’s nothing. Just fell down the stairs.”, Terrence answered, “We have to go now.”

And with that they practically stumbled over their own feet to get away.

“Well, that wasn’t weird at all.”, Jane mumbled.


	8. Chapter 8

Maura couldn’t forget the pure look of fear on Terrence’s face. Claire wasn’t even able to look her in the eyes.  
Whatever had happened to them, they definitely wouldn’t tell to scared of whoever did that to them.

Jane seemed to be puzzled by their reaction as well. During the next classes they didn’t exchange any words, both lost in their own thoughts.

Thankfully, the teacher didn’t mind them and only concentrated on the lesson.  
When the school day ended Maura had more questions than answers. Normally she would go and find a book to get her missing knowledge, but in this case the only way to find out what she wanted to know would be to ask the persons involved. The fact that they didn’t want to talk to her, not even look at her made it sheer impossible.

Jane and Maura walked to detention together making a quick stop at their lockers which weren’t far apart, the blonde had noticed.

Frost was already in the room and smiled as he spotted the girls.  
“Back again?”, he joked.  
Jane nodded and rolled her eyes, “Thank god it is already Friday! I would die if I had to come here again this week.”

“Oh, come on it isn’t that bad.”, Frost said winking at Maura who didn’t understand what that was supposed to mean.  
Before she could ask the raven-haired girl punched him on the shoulder making him wince in pain.

“Why do you always have to punch me like that?”, he pouted.  
“Because it’s fun to see you flinch.”, Jane retorted and gave him a small pat on the head.

“I always knew you had a sadistic trait in you.”, he laughed which earned him a light slap on the back of his head before Jane sat down behind him.

Maura joined her placing down her bag next to the table.

“Have you seen Terrence and his dogs?”, Jane asked Frost who had turned his chair to be able to look at the girls.

“Yeah. Pretty bruised up those three. And that haircut!”, he answered, “Why you asking?”

“Well, I might have given them a blue eye or so, but damn, that is on a whole different level. You know what happened?”

Maura listened closely not wanting to miss even one fact.

“No idea but who ever did that was pissed.”

Hoyt came into the room followed by a teacher and the students fell quiet.

“Hello everyone.”, the woman said. Maura had seen her on the school property before, but she was no teacher of hers. She was young and she seemed to be full of energy, not like some of the older teachers who had only a few more years left before retiring.

“I don’t have any tasks for you today. I want you to do the given homework and learn what is important for next week.”, she continued, “If you want to you can build groups or partner up but I don’t want you using this time for chatting or any of that. I’ll be right here at my desk.”

With that she pulled some papers out of her bag and placed them on the table before taking her seat.  
She would be busy correcting some test for the rest of the time.

Jane turned towards Maura smiling.  
“You wanna do the homework together?”, she asked, and the blonde couldn’t help but find herself nodding in agreement. How could she ever say no to a smile like that?

“Can you help me too?”, Frost asked.  
Maura was about to tell him they could do it together, Jane interrupted, “You are not even in our class.”

“That doesn’t mean she can’t help me.”, he countered.

“She could, but first we have to do our own homework.”

Maura was confused why the girl was fighting so hard against them working together, so she interrupted their little dispute, “How about you try to do your homework on your own first. Later you can ask me about the questions you have problems with. How does that sound?”

Frost thought about it for a moment before answering, “Alright.”  
He turned towards Jane, “You know she doesn’t belong to you alone, right?”

Jane blushed lightly and quickly pulled out her notebook, textbook and a pencil.  
“Let’s start.”, she mumbled.

Maura took out her things as well and both girls started to work on their homework.  
After a few minutes, the blonde felt eyes on her and she looked up, only to find Hoyt staring at her.  
She didn’t know what his problem was, but she didn’t like the look he was giving her.  
As if she had stolen something from him and he was determent to get it back if necessary, with force.

When he noticed the blonde looking back at him, he smiled, and she felt a little sick.

Jane seemed to notice and asked concerned: “Are you alright?”  
The other girl turned to look into dark brown eyes.  
“Just a little nausea.”, she answered smiling to show Jane that everything was fine even though she could definitely use some fresh air.

Jane looked her up and down before turning to the front raising her hand: “Excuse me, Miss?”

The teacher looked up from her papers  
“Yes. How may I help you?”

“I think I need some fresh air. Would it be possible to step out for a minute?”, Jane continued.

“Of course. Do you need to go to the nurse?”, the teacher looked worried.

“I think some air will be enough but maybe my friend could accompany me, just to make sure nothing happens?”

“Alright. You two can go but be back in five minutes or I am going to come and find you. And I promise you, that you don’t want that.”, the woman waved with her hand towards the door before turning back to her papers.

Jane got up and pulled Maura with her. As they stepped outside the blonde asked worried:” Are you alright?”

“Yeah. I am fine.”, Jane smiled sheepishly.

“But you told the teacher that you weren’t feeling good.”, Maura questioned.

“I did because I thought you could use some fresh air. You were really pale in there.”

They were walking down the hallway and the sun fell through the big windows. The soft light made Maura’s hair look golden and Jane wondered if she had met an angel.

“Thank you.”, Maura said, pulling Jane out of her thoughts.  
“For what?”, she asked confused.  
“For noticing.”, the blonde answered smiling softly.  
“Why would you thank me for that?”  
“Well, not everyone would do something like that for me.”

Jane was even more confused by that statement. Who wouldn’t do something like that for a girl like her?

They fell silent and reached the end of the hallway.

Maura felt better and Jane didn’t look as worried as before, a sign that she didn’t seem to appear sick anymore.

“I think we should go back to the classroom.”, the blonde stated turning to walk back, but Jane didn’t follow therefore Maura stopped and looked back.  
“Are you coming?”

“Why wouldn’t someone do something like that for you?”, Jane asked, and Maura looked down at her feet. How should she explain to the girl she started to really like and enjoyed spending time with, that normally she would sit alone since no one wanted to talk to her. Her parents had always work except for some special moments they could really spend time together but mostly that would involve some kind of event they were hosting or attending.  
She was a loner and the only one she could blame was herself. She never wanted to be a burden to anyone and learned quick how to hide her true feelings even without lying.

A hand lifted her head softly by the chin.  
“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to. I just don’t understand how someone like you doesn’t have like a thousand friends.”, Jane said giving her a soft smile pushing a strand of hair behind the blonde’s ear, “You are smart, caring and beautiful.”

At that Maura blushed.

Jane noticed and now realised what she had said and done. Her hand fell down to her side.  
“I mean you are not ugly or anything like that. And you always dress nice.”, now it was Jane’s turn to blush.

“Thank you.”, Maura said not sure what else she could answer. No one has ever told her she was beautiful except for her mother or her father. It made her heart skip.

They were close but not to close and when Maura looked into Jane’s eyes, she saw something she had never seen before. Want.

“Girls?”, the voice of the teacher got carried to them through the hall, “Your five minutes are up. Come back to the classroom now, please.”

The moment was broken. “We should go.”, the blonde stated turning again to make her way down the hall. Jane stopped her again by grabbing her arm.

“We are friends, right?”, Jane asked, but Maura didn’t know how to answer since she never had any real friends.

“I think so.”, was the only thing she could think of.

Janes eyes wandered down to the blonde’s lips and up again, “Good.”  
She smiled.

“Girls? I Give you ten seconds to return.”, the teacher’s voice could be heard again.

“Alright. I think we should really go now.”, the dark-haired girl said, starting to walk down the hallway to the detention classroom. Maura walked next to her. Their hands slightly touched sometimes and each time the blonde’s heart skipped a beat.

_____________________________________________

Back in the classroom they continued to work on their homework. When Maura felt eyes on herself again, she didn’t bother to look up not wanting to give Hoyt any satisfaction or reason to smile at her.

After they finished Frost turned to get the blonde’s help on his questions.

Time flew by and finally the last bell of the day rang, and they could leave the school.

Frost, Jane and Maura walked out of the classroom together.

“You really saved my butt today Maura.”, Frost said. His homework had a bunch of mistakes which the blonde had corrected successfully.

“Yeah, you are damn lucky she could help you, otherwise you would be so screwed next week.”, Jane laughed.

“I would be dead!”, the boy stated shaking his head.

“I am glad I could be of use.”, Maura said smiling.

“Alright. Now. School is over let’s forget about all that boring stuff and talk about the game this weekend. Are you coming?”, Jane asked looking at the blonde.

“I am still not sure if my parents will allow me to go. I am somewhat grounded.”, the shorter girl answered.

“Oh, come on. You have good grades and never get in trouble at least I have never seen you in detention before. Why would they even ground you?”

“I think they want me to learn my lesson for doing something I wasn’t supposed to.”

“Maybe you could tell them you have to be there since it is the school team playing.”, Frost interjected.

“I don’t like lying.”, Maura said.

“It wouldn’t be a lie.”, Jane answered.

By then they have reached the front of the school and they stood at the bottom of the stairs.

“Well girls. It was nice to chat with you, but my mum is waiting at home with dinner for me.”, Frost stated and waved as he started to make his way back home.

“I don’t have much time either today, but how about we talk later, on the phone. You know I have your number.”, Jane winked.

“We can do that.”, Maura smiled.

“Alright. Then I’ll be on my way. Talk to you later.”, the taller girl waved as she walked away.

Maura waited until she didn’t see the other girl anymore before heading over to the parked car.


	9. Chapter 9

Saturdays always felt lonely. Her parents had to finish work or met up with their friends. Sometimes they had the chance to spend some time together as a family, enjoying a stroll through a museum or art gallery. Those days Maura treasured the most.

Today was not one of those days. She had gotten up around eight and after going down into the kitchen she found a note written by her mother.

“Darling, your father and I have an appointment. We’ll be back around two p.m. If you want us to get something to eat on our way back text me. Love Mum.”

She thought about texting right away but decided to have a peaceful breakfast first.   
After opening the refrigerator, she picked out some fruits to make a small fruit salat. It too her some time to cut everything and to finish up she poured some lemon juice over it. Before starting to eat she cleaned up the kitchen and grabbed some yoghurt.

She sat down at the counter and quietly ate. When she had finished her bowl was placed into the dishwasher and she went back upstairs to finally text her mother.

Her phone was plugged in and turned off like she always did overnight. She only would use er mobile to call her parents if any emergency occurred and therefor, she had no need for it most of the time.  
It only took a few seconds to turn on and after entering her PIN it almost immediately started to vibrate in her hand.   
Two text messages were waiting for her.

“Hope you had a nice evening :) Sleep well!” – Jane 9 p.m.

Maura smiled. Yesterday after getting home Jane had called her almost half an hour later and the next hour was spent talking about everything and nothing. She had wished to continue but her parents had returned home making her end the call.

She read the next message:  
“Morning! Sleep well? Did you ask your parents yet?” – Jane 7:30 a.m.

For a second Maura wondered why Jane would be up at 7:30 a.m. on a Saturday since the girl had explained to her that she loved sleeping in if possible but she remembered her also saying that she would go jogging today. She wanted to calm down a little bit before the game in the afternoon.

Her fingers moved fast as she typed a reply.

“Good morning. Matter of fact I did sleep well. How about you? I talked to them yesterday and will come to your game.” – Maura 8:30 a.m.

To her surprise convincing her parents to let her go didn’t even take long. She had told them about the game and didn’t even need to explain why she wanted to go.   
Her mother was thrilled to find out she was interested in some kind of group activity and making her interact with her fellow classmates. And her father just started to talk about his time playing in the field during high school.

Her phone vibrated.

“Good. Told you it would be no big deal. I can’t wait to see you later ;)You going to cheer for me, right?” – Jane 8:32 a.m.

“When exactly is the game starting? I wouldn’t want to be late.” – Maura 8:33 a.m.

“4:30 p.m. You didn’t answer my question.” – Jane 8:34 a.m.

It was no accident of hers not to answer the question. She just had no idea what to say. She wanted to tell Jane that she would definitely cheer her on, but she didn’t want to come on to strong. Therefor she had hoped Jane wouldn’t notice the lack of answer and wouldn’t ask again.

She thought for a moment what she should write, when her phone vibrated again.

“You don’t have to answer. I am just glad that you will be there.”, - Jane 8:37 a.m.

A part of her felt relieved and another felt bad for taking so long that Jane had felt the need to console her by reducing the pressure of the question. She decided to be brave and write what she was thinking.

“I’ll cheer you on. How was your run this morning?” – Maura 8:38 a.m.

The blonde held her breath waiting for an answer.

“:D Can’t wait! It was alright but you know a cup of coffee would make it even better.” – Jane 8:39 a.m.

“Considering your caffeine intake, I have noticed in the last few days I suggest you start drinking less. Maybe a cup of tee would be better.” – Maura 8:41 a.m.

Maura looked at her phone ready for the next text message but there was none. She waited for almost five minutes before deciding Jane probably wouldn’t answer in close future.

She placed her mobile in her back pocket and decided it would be nice to read a little before turning to her studies. She grabbed the book from her nightstand and walked back down. Some fresh air would be sufficient too and the Hollywood swing on their terrace practically called her name.

The blonde reached the bottom of the stairs when the doorbell rang.   
Maura stopped in her step and looked at the entrance. Since her parents wouldn’t be home until 2 p.m. and she wasn’t expecting any visitors, she debated with herself if she should open the door.

The bell rang again and whoever was on the other side seemed determent.

In the end she had no other choice then to look who wanted her attention.   
She looked through the peephole and to her surprise the person on the other side was no other than Jane.

She was wearing running shoes, a tank top and some leggings. She looked sweaty an a little out of breath as she wiped her forehead. I looked like she was about to turn around and walk away, so Maura hurried to open the door.

“Hey.”, a dazzling smile appeared on Jane’s face.

“Hello.”, Maura replied giving her a smile, “What are you doing here?”

“Well, I read your address in one of your notebooks and noticed it wasn’t that far away and decided I maybe could come by on my run.”, Jane’s smile got shy, “Is this a bad time?”

Maura followed her eyes down to the book she was holding.

“No, no. I was just going outside to read a little.”, she hurried to explain.

The other girl nodded, “Soo… Are you going to ask me in or are we going to keep standing here?”

“Right.”, Maura stepped to the side to let Jane past her.

“You have a nice house.”, Jane said looking around while waiting for Maura to close the door and leading the way.

“Thank you.”, the blonde answered, “You want something to drink?”

They walked into the kitchen and the blonde pointed at wone stool for Jane to sit down.

“Since you are asking, do you have any coffee?”, the dark-haired girl asked after taking her seat.

“You shouldn’t drink that much caffeine. How about some tee?”, the blonde repeated her last text message.

“I came all this way, and you don’t even want to give me a nice cup of hot coffee?”, Jane said pretending to feel hurt. Maura couldn’t help but chuckle at the face she was given.

“Oh, you think that is funny?”, dark eyes sparkled in amusement.

“Since you are asking so nicely, I will get you a cup of coffee, but don’t blame me if you get insomnia or any other side effects from your enormous caffeine intake.”, Maura grabbed a cup and poured some coffee her parents had made before leaving the house. It was still warm and had the perfect temperature so Jane wouldn’t burn her tongue.

“You want any cream or sugar?”, she asked placing the mug on the counter.

“No than you.”, Jane answered grabbing the mug to take a sip, “That is delicious! What kind of coffee is that?”

“Jamaican Blue, I think.”, the blonde answered. She knew her parents liked to try new kinds of coffee occasionally and that was the last name she remembered. She liked to drink the dark liquid too but only in small ratios.

“Wait. I think I heard that name before. Isn’t that one of those fancy coffee beans?”

“So, you like it?”

“Are you kidding? It is like the best coffee I ever had!”, to underline her words Jane took another sip, closing her eyes as the bitter liquid met her tongue.

The blonde watched and suddenly she felt nervous and her mouth went dry. The girl in front of her was like a goddess. Her skin glistering in the sunlight which fell through the windows and her lips in a soft red. Most girls wore make-up to feel pretty but Jane didn’t seem to need any of that. And now she wasn’t even wearing mascara and looked stunning.   
Maura hadn’t even noticed Jane opening her eyes and looking back at her.

“Do I have something on my face?”, the girl asked.

“No, sorry.”, Maura said hurrying to turn and grab a glass for herself which she filled with water before sitting down next to Jane.

“You don’t have to apologise.”

“I was staring which I shouldn’t. So therefore, I apologised.”, Maura explained.

“I don’t mind you staring.”, Jane blushed, and the blonde didn’t know what to answer. Instead she cleared her throat and asked what had been on her mind the whole time.

“Why exactly did you come here? I assume it is not just for the coffee.”

The taler girl looked at her fingers: “Well, I wanted to see you.”

“You could have waited until later. We would have met before the game or at least after.”, the blonde furrowed her brows.

“I could have, but I didn’t want to. I thought we could talk, spend some time and relax a little. We only see each other at school where we aren’t exactly allowed to talk freely. If it is inconvenient for you right now, I can leave.”, the girl started to move, and Maura reached out instinctively holding her back. Her hand came to rest on Jane’s forearm.

“That’s not what I meant. I am just not used to visitors.”, she quickly explained.

“You better get used to it. You know my mum always says if a Rizzoli takes a liking in a person, they will never let them go.”, the girl smiled and again Maura’s heartbeat sped up.

“You like me?”, she asked still not completely trusting that a person could take such a big interest in her.

“I thought that was clear after I invited you to my game and tried to spend every minute during school with you.”, Jane chuckled, “You are not really good at that whole friendship thing, are you?”

Maura looked down to her feet: “No, I am not good at that. Sorry.”

“Again, with the apology? You don’t have to apologise all the time.”, Jane lifted her head like she did in school yesterday, forcing Maura to meet her eyes, “You never have to apologise for something like that.”

Maura’s eyes wandered down to Jane’s lips and she thought about how they would feel. They would probably taste like coffee now and maybe a soft note which only belongs to the raven-haired girl.

She couldn’t resist as she slowly leaned in, giving Jane enough time to back away. It seamed like the girl was getting closer as well and before Maura could stop herself their lips met.

Her eyes fell close and like she had thought she could taste coffee but even more, something sweet. Hands came up and cupped her face. Jane slid down from her stool and came to stand between Maura’s legs, getting even closer.   
When a tongue softly begged for her to open her lips, she was more than happy to do so.   
She had never felt something like this before. Blood was rushing through her veins and her heart felt like it would explode in her chest.

The kiss went on for quite a while when they finally broke apart to get some much-needed air.

Janes pupils were dilated a typical sign for arousal as Maura knew and the fact that she had done that to the other girl was unbelievable.   
Slowly her head started to work again, and she realised what exactly she had done. She had kissed Jane and Jane had kissed her back.   
Wait, did friends kiss each other like that?

And suddenly fear filled her heart. What if she had ruined their friendship now? She didn’t know how she could handle Jane not being by her side even if they only knew each other for a few days. The girl had managed to become a part in Maura’s life which she didn’t want to lose.

Jane must have noticed the thought running through her head.   
“Hey. Stop thinking.”, with that she pulled the blonde back in to connect their lips again.


	10. Chapter 10

Jane couldn’t stop smiling. They were sitting on the couch in the living room. Well, Maura was sitting while Jane had laid down placing her head comfortably on the blonde’s lap.   
She could feel fingers brushing through her ponytail and a part of her just wanted to close her eyes and enjoy the moment.

“So, now you are definitely going to come to cheer me on, right?”, Jane asked jokingly.

Maura thought for a moment before answering matter of fact: “I would have cheered you on either way.”

The dark-haired girl couldn’t help but chuckle at that statement. When she saw the look, the blonde was giving her she stopped only to pull her head down pressing a quick kiss on her lips.

“You are too cute.”, she whispered.

The blonde blushed giving the other girl a shy smile.

They stayed in that position for a little while longer until suddenly the grandfather clock struck ten.

Jane sat up in a hurry.   
“Fuck! It’s already ten? My mum is going to kill me!”, she said almost running out of the room into the hallway.

Maura stood up and followed the girl clearly upset but she tried hard not to show it.   
Still Jane noticed the change in the air and quickly turned around grabbing the blonde to pull her close.

“I really don’t want to go but my mum wanted me back home half an hour ago and this woman can…”, she stopped and took a deep breath,” …be somewhat annoying when it comes to making sure we are on time and home when we are supposed to.”

A part of Maura knew it was only logical but the girl in front of her made her feel save and warm and she didn’t want to let go of that feeling right now.

“How about I’ll come to pick you up later before the game? Or we could go out to eat something afterwards?”, Jane asked trying to cheer the other girl up again.

Maura smiled softly.  
“Dinner after the game would be great.”, she said.

“Alright.”, Jane leaned down and gave the other girl a kiss before letting her go to put on her running shoes.

After she had tied them and got back up, she pulled Maura closer again to give her a longer more passionate kiss.

“I can’t wait to see you again this evening.”, she whispered against soft lips. She turned to go to the front door and after opening it she glanced back giving her girl a big smile and started running.

Maura watched Jane vanish behind the next street corner and wondered how long it would take her to get home. She still didn’t know where the other girl lived but had shared more intermit moments with her than with any other person. The thought brought back memories she had made only a few minutes ago. She could still smell a hint of lavender in the air and her cheeks started to hurt since she had been smiling ever since their kiss had broken apart.

She felt as if she was walking on air while she went up the stairs to get to her room.   
After opening her closet, she decided it would be best to plan what to wear later on but looking at her options she felt as if nothing would be fitting.   
She had some nice skirts which she could pair with a blouse but since it was a sports event she didn’t know if it would be appropriate. Maybe she just could just a pair of pants with the blouse instead but somehow it still seemed to formal or to dressed up as some would say.

She debated if she should ask her mother to go out and find something more fitting but buying something so she could wear it probably only for one evening would be on so many levels wrong.   
Since she had no other choice, she kept on looking though her clothes until she finally found a pair of jeans in the back. She had bought them to be able to help in the garden since she thought of it as sort of meditation. It relaxed her to just work so she wouldn’t have to think about anything else.   
She hadn’t worn them in some time since school took over most of her life, but she figured they would be alright for this evening.

Now she only needed something to wear on top of it, that didn’t look like a blouse you would wear to a job interview. After another five minutes of searching through her clothes she came up empty handed.

She let herself fall onto her bed ready to give up when she felt her phone buzzing in her in her pocket. She pulled it out and saw the other girl’s name written across the screen.   
She picked up.

“Hey.”, Jane’s voice came form the other side sounding a little out of breath.

“Hey.”, Maura answered smiling.

“I just wanted to let you know that I got home.”, Jane said.

“That is good.”, the blonde stated listening to Jane’s breathing which slowly regulated itself.

“I got to go inside now. I can’t wait to see you later.”

“Alright. See you later.”, Maura whispered, wanting to hear Janes voice a little longer and after a second she heard a click signalling that the call was ended.

She looked up at the ceiling her thoughts wandering.

___________________________

“Mum, I am back!”, Jane said stepping through the front door. She slipped out of her shoes before continuing her way deeper into the house.

“Janie! Where have you been?”, her mother asked. Angela had been worried for the last hour even though Frank had told her Jane would be fine and she would probably only need the activity before the game. But a mother worries when their children don’t show up.

“Sorry, mum. I lost track of time after I visited a friend on my way.”, she explained while getting pulled in a bear hug.   
“A friend?”, Angela questioned.

“Yes. Her house is on my way and I thought it would be nice to have a chat with her, but we didn’t notice how late it got.”, she answered, leaving out the fact that she changed her route only to be able to see Maura.

“I didn’t know you had a friend around here. Who is she?”, her mother continued to investigate.

“Her name is Maura. She is in my new class and helps me with schoolwork.”, Jane said hoping her mother would be satisfied with her answer.

Thankfully, the woman noticed that Jane didn’t want to continue their conversation. The girl loved her privacy and would only tell her mother what she wanted to.

“Alright. Go take a shower I’ll make you something to eat.”

With that Jane was allowed to leave and go on with what she had to do.

On the way to the bathroom she passed her brother Frankie who chuckled and whispered: “Busted.”

She gave him a punch against his shoulder, and he winced a little.   
Since Jane only had brothers, she soon had learned to stand her ground and sometimes when they thought it would be funny to tease her the best way was to stop them right in the beginning.

She kept on walking and his voice followed her: “You stink. Get a shower.”  
That didn’t even get him a reaction since he somehow had a point. She was sweaty and a shower would be heaven.

She grabbed a pair of fresh clothes and slipped into the bathroom she had to share with her brothers. Thankfully, she could lock the door but still spending longer periods of time here would definitely lead to annoying knocking which would only end if she stepped out of the room.

So instead of taking her time she followed her daily routine. After stripping down and throwing her clothes into the dirty laundry basket she quickly stepped into the shower. Turning on the water it was cold, and she felt a shiver running down her back. Slowly the water got warmer, but she didn’t waste any second starting to shampoo her hair and washing her body. It took her about five minutes to clean up and feel halfway presentable. She rinsed out her hair, the water now steaming. Afterwards she turned off the shower and stepped outside. Grabbing her towel Jane rapped herself in it and cleaned the steamed-up mirror clean with a cloth.

Jane looked at her reflexion and couldn’t help but smile as she remembered the morning. She couldn’t wait to see Maura again this evening. While they had been sitting in the living room, she had felt an inner peace. Somehow, she could forget obligations towards her family for a moment. Not worrying about her little brother Tommy for a change was a bit relieve.   
Speaking of him there was a knock on the door and his voice came from the other side.

“Jane! Hurry up. I have to get ready too.”

She didn’t know why he was in such a hurry since he didn’t need to go anywhere today, but still she rubbed herself down quickly before throwing on the fresh clothes.

Her hair was still wet but after scrunching it in a towel for a few times helped getting some water out of it. That must be enough for now and she opened the door right when Tommy was about to knock again.

“Finally.”, he said and pressed his body through the door. For his age he was taller than the other boys and had a hand for getting into trouble.

“You could be nicer.”, she said looking at him, “I only was in there for like five minutes and you will probably take twice as long.”

He huffed and pushed her completely out of the bathroom before shutting the door without another word.

She heard the key turn and shook her head. She didn’t know when exactly it had started but he had definitely pulled back from her. Normally they would be playing basketball outside or roughhouse in the garden but nowadays only Frankie would do that with her.

What Jane knew was that Tommy had gotten into contact with some bad news. A few boys from his school who would get in trouble constantly. They were a little older and she couldn’t help the feeling that Tommy was amusement for them.   
She would have to keep an eye on him or else he might do something he would regret, since he was to naive sometimes.

Jane turned away from the closed door and walked into the kitchen where her Mother was making a sandwich.   
When she saw her daughter, she smiled and took a plate she already had finished preparing, to place it on the countertop where Jane grabbed the sandwich and bit into it right where she was standing.

“Jane. Don’t eat like an animal. You can sit down at the table.”, her mother said, and Jane rolled her eyes.   
She took her plate and walked over to the kitchen table and sat down.

After she had finished the first half of her sandwich and was about to start the second one, Angela asked: “Do you want some more? And maybe a glass of milk?”

The girl looked at her plate were some cut up fruits were laying still.   
“Thanks mum, but I am good.”, she replied and continued to devour her food.

“Are you sure? You know you have that big game today. Maybe a little more would be good.”

Before Jane could answer her mother had already brought over another sandwich and was cutting it in half on Jane’s plate.

“Mum. I really can’t eat that much.”, the girl said and shook her head.

“I am sorry for wanting to make sure that you get enough to eat.”, Angela said a little hurt since all she wanted was to care for her children. Frankie would eat the second sandwich without hesitation and Tommy would ask her to wrap it up so he could take it with him. Only Jane would say that she didn’t need or want it. She always knew what she wanted and sometimes she would even act as if she was all grown up already.

Well since their child would always be their child in a mother’s eyes it was hard for Angela to accept that her daughter had grown up quite a bit.

Jane felt the shift in the air and hurried to get up and step behind her mother who had returned to make another sandwich. She hugged Angela from behind, making sure not to disturb her arms since she was handling a knife.

“I’m sorry mum. I didn’t mean to make you upset. Maybe you could wrap it up for later? Then I can eat it before the game.”, she said.

Angela knew that her daughter wasn’t big on the whole hugging thing and the fact that she had come over to do so surprised her and the only thing she could say: “It’s okay. Then I will wrap it up.”

Content with the outcome of the situation the girl returned to her place at the table were a little piece of her first sandwich was still laying. She finished it with two bites before turning to the fruits.

“What do you want to eat for dinner after the game?”, Angela asked as she wrapped up the sandwich.

“Well, about that….”, Jane answered bracing herself for what she thought would definitely come, “I made some plans with a friend, so I won’t be home right away.”

“But it’s a family dinner. You knew I would cook something nice for us all.”

“I know mum, but we will have family dinner tomorrow as well and I thought it would be alright for me to miss it today.”, she tried to explain.

“I think you should ask your father, what he thinks.”, her mother said and speaking of him, he walked into the kitchen.

“Ask me what?”, he asked as he grabbed one of the sandwiches and started to eat it where he was standing.

“Frank! Sit down.”, Angela demanded not wanting her husband to get crumbs all over her kitchen floor.

He obliged and took the seat across from his daughter.

“Alright. Now, what did you want to ask?”, he questioned.

“Well mum wants me to come home after the game, but I made some plans with a friend to go out and grab a bite. So, can I please meet my friend? I promise I won’t be long!”, Jane said watching her dad eating his sandwich.

“Angela, let the girl have a little freedom.”, he said, and Jane knew she had won, “Let her meet her friend. We can have family dinner tomorrow.”

“Oh Frank! We don’t even know who she will be meeting.”, Angela tried again.

Frank senior turned towards his daughter, “Who will you spend your time with this evening?”

“A friend of mine. She is in my new class and helps me with my studies. So, I thought it would be nice to invite her out as kind of a thank you.”, Jane explained.

“Do you hear that Angela? She wants to thank the girl for helping with her schoolwork.”, Frank said placing his hand on his wife’s. Angela thought for a moment. She still was unsure if they should let their daughter go but her husband was right. Jane was old enough to decide what she wanted to do.

“Alright.”, Angela finally said, and Jane smiled happily,” But I want to at least know the name of your friend.”

Jane rolled her eyes before replying: “Maura, mum. Her name is Maura.”  
She stood up and put her plate into the dishwasher. A quick look towards the clock told Jane that it was already twelve which meant that she should get going and prepare her stuff for later.

“I’ll be in my room for now if you need anything else.”, she said before leaving the kitchen.

She could here her dad talk to her mother and judging by their tone it wasn’t a friendly conversation more like a discussion.

After she closed the door to her bedroom, she felt relieve that she wouldn’t witness any more of their quarrel and turned to the task at hand. What would she wear?


	11. Chapter 11

In the end, Maura had decided to wear the simplest blouse she owned. Still, she felt overdressed as she looked over the field of people. Some were wearing their school color while another part had painted their faces for the competing team.   
It was loud and Maura wished she could be home, too overwhelmed by the situation. She was never good at social gatherings.

She tended to say something wrong even though she didn’t see the problem in pointing out when she could clearly make out signs of health problems.   
After pointing out, that her uncle should go see a doctor and get some tests done since his skin seemed a little yellow and he complained about pain in his stomach, the family had laughed and asked what an eleven-year-old girl would know about such things. Since then she mostly kept quiet but sometimes, she just couldn’t help herself.

Thankfully, she didn’t have to talk to anyone right now.   
A man bumped into her and she got pushed to the side again as if no one saw her trying to make her way to the bleachers.

“Excuse me.”, she said while passing another man who only stared at her. Again, she felt uncomfortable and worried if her clothes might have upset him since she somewhat didn’t look like she belonged here.

Finally, he turned and took care of his goal to find a good seat so that he could enjoy the game.

A quick look on her watch told her it would be twenty more minutes.   
She had come early hoping to maybe see Jane before the game, but the girl was nowhere to found and Maura concluded that she must be in the locker room getting changed.

Finally, she found a free seat that wasn’t right in the middle but more on the side, where she could follow the game but would be in no danger of bumping into some over supportive parents or friends. And judging by the noise they were already making it was definitely a good decision.

Her phone buzzed and she pulled it out of her small purse.

Jane: “Hey! :) Are you there yet?” – 4:10 pm.

Maura smiled and quickly replied.

Maura: “Hey. Yes, I am already seated. Are you nervous?” – 4:11 pm.

It took Jane a minute to answer.

Jane: “A little. Can’t disappoint my girl, right?!” – 4:13 pm.

That made the blonde smile even more. “My girl”, she thought and felt warm and fuzzy inside. The noises of the world seemed to fade and all she could see was the message she had just received.

Maura: “Well, I can’t wait to see you play. I’ll be here to cheer for you no matter what.” – 4:15 pm.

\-----------------

Jane was sitting on a bench in the girl’s locker room. Being the only girl on the team definitely had it perks. For once she could use her phone before the game without her coach taking it, saying she should get her head in the game. And another bonus was, that none of her teammates could see her blush as she reread the last text, she had sent to Maura a minute ago.   
She imagined the other girl reading it and that could go two ways. The good way, she would like that Jane called her “my girl” and she could add that to her list of nicknames. Now the bad way would be if she didn’t like it and would then explain that the whole kissing thing was a mistake, and she had no feelings at all for the brunette.   
Even if scenario two was highly unlikely there was still a slight chance it could be the case.

The minute it took the blonde to answer felt like an eternity and when Jane’s phone finally vibrated, she had to take a deep breath before reading the message.

She smiled and typed her answer.

Jane: “Even more reason for me to give my best.” – 4:17 pm.

A second after pressing sent there was a loud knock on the locker room’s door.

“Let’s go Rizzoli”, the coach’s voice came from the other side.

Jane put her phone into the locker before going to the door to meet the man.   
“You ready?”, Korsak asked giving her a pat on the back.

“Yeah. Let’s do this.”, she answered grinning.   
They walked over to the boy’s locker room and before entering Korsak made sure that all the boys were decent, and Jane could step in so he could hold his usual speech before the game.

“ALRIGHT BOYS AND GIRL!”, he stated, “Like the last games, I want you to give your all! The enemy is strong, but we are smart and fast. Let’s play clever and don’t let them get in your head! YOU READY?”

“YES COACH!”, they yelled in unison.

“WELL, THEN LET’S GOOOOOO!”, he opened the door and his team started to jog out to get on the field.

As they got out Jane looked to the bleachers trying to find Maura. She was about to give up when she noticed the blonde sitting on the side. She looked a little uncomfortable, but it seemed as if her whole posture changed as she noticed Jane. She gave the brunette a small wave and a shy smile.   
Jane nodded and gave her a bright grin before tapping her cap and turning her attention to her team.

\---------------------------------------

Finally, the game started. Maura was amazed by the precision their school team was able to hit the ball as it got thrown hard in their direction. Each time the bat hit the ball the sound echoed over the field and the people around her started to cheer and yell.

When it was Jane’s turn to swing the blond hold her breath in awe. The girl was concentrated and the look of complete control on her face was unbelievable. She wished to just grab it and make her lose concentration.

After the first throw, she hit the ball and it flew over everybody. She tossed the bat on the ground and started to run.   
Maura’s heartbeat quickened and she couldn’t take her eyes of the brunette who ran from base to base. One boy of the other team got the ball and threw it to his partner. Jane only had a few more meters to run to get the home run. Suddenly Maura found herself standing up like all the rest yelling Jane’s name and that she could make it.

The ball got thrown closer to the last base and after following the game for some time Maura knew that if they managed to get it to the last base before Jane could make it the whole run was for nothing.

She watched as Jane leaped forward right as the ball got thrown to the boy standing next to the white pad.   
She landed hard on the ground and Maura knew it must have hurt but she made it! She had managed a home run and her whole team came out to congratulate her.

Maura laughed and as Jane looked over, she waved.   
The brunette looked so proud and confident.

For the rest of the game, Maura continued to cheer for Jane, and every chance the other girl got she looked over giving the blond a smug grin.

Around seven pm the winner was clear. Their team had given their best but in the end, the others managed to score a few points more.   
Even though Jane’s team wasn’t the winner Maura decided to clap and cheer for her as they walked off.

Slowly the bleachers cleared but the blonde didn’t know where to go, since she hadn’t arranged anything with Jane. In the end she stayed in her seat pulling out her phone to ask if she should go find her anywhere particular. She waited for an answer but there was none. 

After ten minutes she was the only one left and got a little worried.   
“Should I come to the locker room? Or will you come ...”, she was typing when suddenly hands covered her eyes. 

“Who is it?”, Jane’s voice asked.

“Jane.”, she said her breath hitching.

The hands were removed, and Maura turned her head to look at the girl. Before she could say something, soft lips met hers. The kiss was sweet and quick.

“I wanted to do that during the whole game.”, Jane whispered, and Maura smiled.

The brunette stepped the sitting girl and held out her hand, so the blonde took it and got pulled on her feet.

“You look beautiful.”, Jane said, and Maura blushed.

Jane was wearing a black top with her baseball jacket and tight dark blue jeans.

“You look great yourself.”, the blonde said. Her mouth was dry, so she licked her lips which the other girl noticed, and they locked eyes. After a second Maura couldn’t stand the tension anymore and looked away.

“So, where are we going?”, the blonde asked.

“I thought we could go to my favorite Diner. The Dirty Robber. You ever been there?”, they started walking and Jane slipped her hand into Maura’s and let their fingers intertwine.

“I don’t recall going there but I would love to try something new.”

“Alright. You are up for a short walk before? It’s a few blocks from here.”, Jane asked.

“Oh, a walk sounds great. I must say that I hadn’t thought the game would take so long.”, the blonde said, “Oh, and I am sorry that you lost. How are you?”

Jane smiled.   
“It sucks that you had to see us lose, but you know, they were really good, and I had fun which is like the most important part.”

“If you look at it that way, I can only agree, the other team had great form and coordination.”, Maura nodded.

“And what about my form and coordination?”, Jane asked jokingly.

“Oh, you have great posture, and your swing was on point. If you lift your elbow like an inch more up while swinging you could hit the ball even harder…”, the blonde started to ramble on, and Jane listened without interrupting.

“I am sorry… I am talking too much, aren’t I?”, Maura finished slightly breathless.

“Don’t apologize. I like listening to your voice.”, the taller girl pulled the smaller one closer to her side and started to draw circles with her thumb on the back of her hand.   
That statement made the blonde blush again and she could feel butterflies in her stomach.

“You know I was happy to see you cheering for me.”, Jane said after a few minutes of silence.   
“I told you I would cheer you on.”

“I know. Still, it made me really happy.”

They kept on walking without talking much more. They felt comfortable just being next to each other like they belonged.

It got colder and Maura shivered slightly which Jane noticed and without even asking she slipped out of her jacket and placed it over the blonde’s shoulders.

“You don’t have to.”, Maura tried to protest but was cut short, as lips met hers.   
“But I want to”, Jane whispered before taking her hand again and continuing to walk.

It took them almost half an hour to reach the diner. It was well lit, and a lot of people had found their way thereafter the game.

Before they got into eyesight, the blonde stopped.   
“What’s wrong?”, Jane asked looking worried.

“I just want to make sure if this is okay with you.”, Maura explained looking down at their intertwined hands.

Jane stepped closer.  
“Well, I don’t care what anybody has to say about this.”, she answered, “but if you would feel more comfortable, we don’t have to hold hands.”  
The blonde noticed a glimpse of sadness in the other girl’s eyes and hurried to say: “I don’t mind. I like holding your hand.”

“Good.”, Jane smiled, “Since this is settled. Let’s go. I am starving.”


	12. Chapter 12

They sat in a small booth next to a window.   
Jane had ordered a Cheeseburger with fries and a large coke, while Maura decided to take a salad and a glass of water.

At first, the dark-haired girl wasn’t sure if the blonde had picked her salad since Jane insisted on paying and it was almost the cheapest on the menu, but when the food arrived, Maura smiled and started to eat her healthy meal with what looked like enthusiasm.

“You really like that green stuff?”, Jane asked taking one of her fries and pointing with it at the other girl’s plate.

“I do. It is very healthy.”, Maura replied matter of fact impaling a small tomato with her fork.   
“You know too much fast food can clog your veins and lead to different kinds of health issues later on.”, the blonde said before putting the tomato into her mouth.

Jane looked at her in disbelieve. No one in her family liked eating greens only her parents and Jane had thought it was some kind of grown-up thing to do.   
“So, you would rather eat a salat than a good old-fashioned burger?”, she asked to double-check.

“To be true, I never had a burger before.”, the blonde admitted.

“Wait! You never had a burger? How about fries?”

Maura shook her head.

“Alright. We have to change that right now!”, Jane declared. She took one of her fries and placed it in front of Maura’s face, waiting for the other girl to take it.

With a slight blush, the blonde leaned forward taking a bite. Now Jane was blushing too.

After a second Maura closed her eyes devouring the taste. It was delicious.

Jane watched her mouth dry.

When Maura opened her eyes again, she blushed.   
“So, how is it?”, Jane asked swallowing.

“I must say, it is very good.”, the blonde smiled.

“I knew you would like it. So now let’s try the burger.”, Jane pushed over her plate so Maura could take the burger. Instead of just grabbing it, the blonde was about to use her fork and knife.

Jane hurried to pull the plate away again: “And what do you think you are doing?”

“Well, I was about to get a piece of your burger to try it before you pulled it away.”, the blonde said, slightly confused.

“You don’t, and I repeat, don’t eat a burger with a fork and knife. You take it in your hands and just bite into it.”, she picked up the burger to show Maura how it was done.   
The blonde watched and after Jane had chewed and swallowed her bite, she pushed the plate over again.   
“Now it’s your turn.”

Maura took the burger, her little fingers slightly lifted. Her bite was smaller than Jane’s careful not to make a mess.

A little moan came over her lips.   
Jane laughed: “This good?”

Maura blushed.

“You know what. You can have this one. I’ll get another.”, Jane said smiling happily since Maura really seemed to enjoy the food.   
The blonde was about to protest but Jane had already waved over the waiter who gladly to the new order.

“You didn’t have to do that.”, Maura said.

“I know, but I wanted to. Now eat your burger.”, Jane laughed at the smile the blonde gave her as she took another bite.

Since Jane had to wait for her new cheeseburger, she reached over to steal some fries from Maura who looked slightly upset.   
“What? You can’t share?”, Jane mocked, taking another one.

“Maybe if you asked nicely.”, Maura shot back.   
Jane was about to protest when the waiter came over and placed down her food.

“Thank you.”, Jane said and caught Maura stealing a few fries.

“What do you think you’re doing?”, she questioned.

“Taking what belongs to me.”, the blonde answered smiling.

Jane laughed: “You know. I really like you.”

After a second, she noticed what her words implied and was worried if the other girl was okay with it. She didn’t want to ruin the evening.

“I like you too.”, Maura admitted her voice soft.

Jane smiled and they continued to eat their meal in silence.

__________________

“So, can I walk you home?”, Jane asked as they stepped out of the diner.

It was already late, but Jane didn’t want to end their evening. She felt too comfortable with Maura by her side.

“That would be great.”, Maura replied, “but won’t it be too cold for you?”

She was wearing Jane’s jacket and now the other girl was only wearing her black tank top and must be freezing.

“Nah, I’m fine.”, Jane said she intertwined their fingers again and bumped lightly against Maura’s shoulder.

Maura smiled.

They talked about all kinds of things while walking and Jane hadn’t even noticed how close they had gotten to Maura’s house until they were only a block away.

She stopped the blonde in her tracks not sure if it would be alright for her to be seen holding hands with her by her parents.

“What is it?”, the blonde asked confused.

“Well… I think we should clear some things before we reach your home.”, Jane tried to explain, failing completely. She didn’t know how to ask Maura if she was okay with them being a couple or if she had thought they were only friends. Well, friends who kissed each other…

“What do you need to clear up?”, Maura asked tilting her head slightly.

“You know, I really like you.”, Jane started trying to find the right words, “I just want to make sure we are both on the same level.”

Maura needed a minute to process the words she just had heard. Jane liked her, so it wasn’t only her who might have caught feelings.

When the blonde didn’t answer right away, Jane got nervous and blurted out: “You wanna be my girlfriend?”

The smile she got from Maura was blinding.   
“Yes.”, she answered out without hesitation.

Jane pulled the blond in to press their lips together. Maura throwing her arms around the taller girl’s neck. She was standing on her tiptoes.   
When they finally parted again Maura had a soft smile on her lips.

“I like that look on you.”, Jane whispered making the other girl blush.

“Alright. I should get you home now.”, Jane said and turned to walk the rest towards Maura’s house. The blonde followed obediently.

When they reached the doorsteps, Jane didn’t want to go. She couldn’t believe that their evening would be ending.

“Alright. I should get home now.”, she said quietly.

Maura looked at her watch. It was already nine pm and Jane would have to walk for at least half an hour more.

“Do you want to stay over?”, Maura asked not even thinking about it.

Jane was taken by surprise.

“I mean it is late. If you want to, you could spend the night.”, Maura tried to explain and even she noticed how that must have sounded.

“I don’t think my mum would be happy.”, Jane answered, noticing the embarrassment in Maura’s expression.   
“You know, she was clear about me being home around ten pm. And you don’t want to get in trouble with that woman.”, Jane joked.

“But you still have to walk for at least half an hour. Maybe my dad could at least drive you.”, Maura said, not wanting her girlfriend wandering alone in the dark.

“Nah, I’ll be fine.”, Jane didn’t want to cause any trouble, and since she knew the way it would be no problem to walk home.

“Please let him drive you.”, Maura pleaded.

“Why are you so persistent on this?”, Jane asked playing with Maura’s fingers.

Maura didn’t answer, too embarrassed to let Jane know how worried she was, that something could happen. She knew Jane would be fine since she had seen the girl fight but still who knew what kind of creep might be out there.

“If you don’t answer me, I will just go now.”, Jane said, turning to leave. She was stopped by Maura grabbing her wrist.

“Don’t go.”, she said, and Jane smiled.   
“And why should I not go?”, Jane asked.

“I just don’t want anything happening to you.”, Maura whispered.

“What was that?”, Jane teased.

“I don’t want anything happening to you.”, Maura repeated a little louder.

“Well, why didn’t you say so earlier?”, Jane gave her a quick peck on the cheek, “I will be fine. I know the way like the back of my hand, but if it makes you feel better, we can ask your dad to take me home.”

Maura smiled and pulled Jane towards the door pulling out her keys.   
She unlocked the door and was met with darkness and then she remembered. Her parents were out and would be back late, as she recalled the talk, she had had with her mother this afternoon. Her heart sunk knowing that now Jane would have to walk home alone.

“I am sorry. I forgot that my parents won’t be home until later.”, the blonde said letting her shoulders drop.

“That’s no problem. As I said before, I don’t mind walking home.”, Jane tried to comfort Maura lifting her head by the chin.

“You really can’t stay?”, Maura asked once more.

Jane thought for a moment. Her mum would not be happy but looking at the blonde she didn’t have the heart to deny her.

“You know. I will call and ask my parents.”, she said pressing a kiss to Maura’s forehead.  
The blonde smiled and watched quietly as Jane pulled out her phone.

She dialed a number and waited for one of her parents to answer the phone. She hoped her dad would pick up since it would be easier to talk to him than her mother.

She was about to hang up when finally, she heard Frank’s voice at the other end.

“Rizzoli.”, he said.

“Hey dad.”, Jane said.

“Janie. Is everything alright?”, he asked. Jane looked over to Maura who started to take off her shoes.

“Yeah, dad. Everything is fine. Just wanted to ask, if it would be alright for me to stay at Maura’s place tonight?”

“I don’t know. “, he started, and Jane clearly heard his uncertainty.   
Maura walked into the kitchen to give the other girl some privacy. She took out two glasses and filled them with water before sitting down at the counter, waiting for Jane to join her when she was finished.

“Please dad?”, Jane tried again, “If you are worried about mum, tell her, that Maura and I will study in the morning. And furthermore, it is already very late, and I don’t think she would want me walking home alone.”  
She tried to use Maura’s argument hoping that her father would feel the same way. And that day she got lucky.

“Alright. Stay at your friend’s place but be home at ten am. You understand me? 10 am!”, he said, and Jane couldn’t help the big smile that grew on her face.

“Thank you, dad! Gotta go now. Love you.”, she hurried to say and only waited to hear him say goodbye before ending the call.

Jane practically threw her shoes in the corner before joining Maura in the kitchen.

“So, it seems you will have to deal with me for the rest of the night.”, Jane smiled and watched as Maura’s face lit up. 

“That is great!”, the blonde said pulling out a stool so Jane could sit down next to her.   
They fell silent for a moment and Jane wasn’t sure what to say.

Thankfully Maura opened her mouth first: “So, what do you want to do? We could watch a movie if you want to?”

“Movie sounds great.”, Jane replied.

After that was settled Maura placed the glasses in the dishwasher before taking two small bottles of water, which they would take upstairs with them.

________________

They were sitting on Maura’s bed. Jane was leaning against the headboard with pillows while Maura had placed her head on the other girl’s chest.

The laptop was placed in front of them. They were watching the second movie already and slowly Maura struggled to keep her eyes open for much longer.   
She could feel Jane’s fingers stroking through her hair and the feeling was comforting and calming.

When Jane noticed Maura slowly drifting off to sleep, she carefully woke her up again not wanting her to sleep in her street clothes.   
“Hey. Let’s get changed and then we can sleep.”, she whispered, Maura protested softly, and Jane chuckled.

After a minute she managed to coax Maura out of bed and pushed her towards the bathroom so she could get ready for bed.

Jane was happy that she had chosen to wear one of her boxer shorts today and decided it would be alright for her to sleep in her tank top and boxer shorts.

When Maura returned Jane was already laying in bed which thankfully, was king-sized.

Still, the blonde blushed as she slipped under the covers.  
She turned off the lights and they laid in silence for a moment.

“Good night.”, Jane finally whispered.

“Good night.”, Maura answered and closed her eyes. Sleep overtook her soon.


	13. Chapter 13

For a few seconds Jane didn’t know where she was and when finally, everything fell into place she smiled. Maura was still sleeping and during the night their position had changed completely.   
The blonde was now laying in her arms, head resting on her chest.   
She looked so peaceful and Jane pushed a strand of hair out of Maura’s face, which made the girl slightly scrunch up her nose. 

Jane didn’t want to wake the sleeping beauty, but she had to find out what time it was. It could be already nine a.m. as far as Jane knew and that would be bad.   
So, she reached carefully over to the bedside table grabbing her phone.

Maura stirred in her sleep and Jane stopped her movement waiting for the blonde to settle down again.

When she was able to look on her phone checking the time, she felt relief flush over her. It was only eight a.m. which meant she would have one hour left before she should get going, knowing that her mother would be more than mad if she didn’t come home on time.

“Morning.”, Maura mumbled, pressing her face into Jane’s chest while her arms tightened around Jane’s waist. The dark-haired girl’s breath quickened, and the blonde noticed the difference. When she realized their position, she hurried to get some distance between them, but Jane’s arms stopped her.

Blushing Maura stayed in place slightly hiding her face.   
“Good morning.”, Jane said, and Maura felt a kiss getting pressed on her head.

“You know, I slept like a stone!”, Jane continued, and the blonde knew what the girl was trying to do. She wanted to relax Maura by showing that she was comfortable with how they were laying in bed.

The blonde still couldn’t speak, too wrapped up in the feeling of warmth and belonging and they fell silent again.   
A few minutes passed and when Jane’s stomach growled, Maura couldn’t help but laugh.

“I think we should get up and get some breakfast.”, she suggested lifting herself up without Jane holding her back.   
When Maura looked down, her eyes meeting Jane’s she leaned down without thinking and pressed their lips together.   
She felt Jane’s arms coming up to wrap around her neck.

When they finally parted again, their breathing was heavy, and Jane smiled.   
“I could wake up like this every morning.”, she said and pressed another kiss to Maura’s lips before she could say anything in return.

This time they got interrupted by Jane’s stomach again and both girls giggled.

“Alright. Let’s get you something to eat.”, Maura said and got out of bed.   
“I’ll go to the bathroom and get ready. You can use the guest bathroom. It is right down the hall.”

“Alright.”, Jane got up as well and Maura blushed. The girl hadn’t noticed that Jane had been wearing so little to bed since she had been under the covers already when she had returned yesterday evening. And now when Jane was stretching the top rose up and revealed a toned stomach.

“I’ll be right back.”, the blonde stuttered and hurried out of the room.

Jane looked after her scratching her head in confusion. When Maura vanished behind the bathroom door she shrugged and picked up her clothes before going to find the guest bathroom.

______________________

They had found their way downstairs and were now seated at the counter. Maura’s parents were in each of their studies. They had been up early like always and now focused on their duties or hobbies.

Normally Maura didn’t like that her parents were so busy even on the weekends but today that only meant she could spend some time with Jane alone.

“I have to say, that omelet is delicious.”, Jane said chewing on her food.

“I am glad you like it.”, Maura smiled and took a bite of her own.

They were chatting about sweet nothing as Arthur entered the kitchen.

“Good Morning.”, he said, “I didn’t know we had a guest over.”

“Good Morning, dad.”, Maura answered.

“Hello, I am Jane Rizzoli.”, Jane got up and reached out her hand so Arthur could shake it.

“Nice to meet you.”, he turned towards his daughter, “How was your evening?”

“It was great, dad. Do you want an omelet?”, Maura asked already standing up to get a plate.

“No, thank you, darling. I just came to grab me a fresh cup of coffee.”, he walked over to the machine placing a cup under it and pressing a few buttons. It started to rumble and soon the steaming black liquid got poured into the mug.

When it was finished, he took his coffee and walked towards the door.   
“I’ll leave your girls to it. If you need something you can find me in my office.”, he left.

“Well, that was kind of awkward.”, Jane mumbled.

“I am sorry.”, Maura tried to explain, “He just has a lot on his mind.”  
Seeing the blonde feeling uncomfortable Jane moved closer bumping lightly into her shoulder.

“You know. I am glad he didn’t stay. I like spending time with you alone.”, she pressed a light kiss to Maura’s cheek, who blushed.

They continued their breakfast and when they were finished Jane leaned back holding her belly.   
“Man, I am full!”, she exclaimed.

Maura grabbed their plates to put them in the dishwasher, but Jane stopped her, placing a hand on her arm.

“Why the hurry? Let’s sit for a moment.”, Jane said.

Maura did how she was told and sat back down feeling a bit uneasy. She didn’t like leaving things unfinished.

“Are you really that interested in doing the dishes?”, Jane questioned seeing the look on Maura’s face.

“I am sorry. I would normally clean up right away.”, Maura blushed.

“Well, I wouldn’t have a problem with that but right now I would enjoy it more if you could come a little closer.”, Jane said sheepishly.

“Why do you need me to come closer?”, the blonde said completely oblivious.

“Just come here.”, Jane grabbed Maura’s stool and pulled it closer until their knees met.   
When her mission was accomplished, she quickly leaned forward pressing their lips together.   
They separated as the clock in the living room signaled that it was already nine a.m.

“Mmh… Why is it already this late?”, Jane mumbled against Maura’s lips who chuckled at that statement.

“I wished I could stay longer, but…”, she got interrupted by Maura who pressed another kiss to her lips.

“I know you have to go.”, the blonde said and separated herself from her girlfriend.

They got up and Maura quickly placed the dishes into the dishwasher before leading Jane into the entrance area where she put on her shoes. When she got back up, she pulled Maura close once more.   
After a moment Maura put her hands onto Jane's chest slightly pushing her away.   
“If we continue like this you won’t leave anytime soon.”, she explained at the hurt look she got from Jane.

“Alright.”, Jane said pressing another quick kiss onto her girlfriend’s lips before turning and opening the door.

“I’ll call you when I get home!”, was the last thing she said before turning and jogging down the street.

Again, Maura stood by the door until there was no more sign of Jane.

She closed the door again and walked towards the chairs. Before she could reach her room, her dad poked his head out of his study.

“Is your friend already gone?”, he asked.

“Yes. She promised her parents to be home by ten.”, Maura explained.

“She seemed nice. Is that the girl you’re helping with the schoolwork?”

“Indeed.”

“And she plays baseball, right? Speaking of it, how was the game? Did your school win?”, he smiled as his daughter’s face lit up.

“The game was quite eventful. You know Jane even hit a home-run, but unfortunately in the end the other team won.”, Maura said, remembering the past evening.

“Well, as long as they did their best, I think it is not important if they win or not.”, he answered, “So, what are your plans for the rest of the day?”

“I thought I would revise some schoolwork.”

“Alright. Maybe you want to play a round of chess later?”, he asked smiling.

“I would love to.”, Maura said giving him a quick peck on his cheek before finally going to her room.

___________________  
  


The rest of the day passed uneventfully. Jane had called to let Maura know that she had reached home and that her mother had been a little angry since she hadn’t come home yesterday evening. In the end, she had understood that it was the best decision they could have made. Anything would be better than walking home in the dark.

After that Maura had returned to her studies until a quick look on her watch told her that it was already six p.m.  
That’s when she decided she should go find her father to play that round of chess he had asked for earlier.

They played in silence only sharing a few words now and then. In the end, she won the first match and Arthur demanded a rematch which she gladly accepted. They were in the middle of it when Constance entered the room.

“Again, with the chess?”, she asked, “You are losing?”

Arthur looked hurt, “Our daughter is really talented and seems to outsmart me easily.”

“That’s not true. You were the one who taught me. If I win it is only because you were too good of a teacher.”, Maura said smiling as she moved one of her figures putting her dad into check-mate again.

“Since you seem to have finished this game, how about we get something to eat?”, Constance asked and moved towards the kitchen.

“You know, I think you get a lot of brain from your mother.”, Arthur whispered and got up to follow his wife.

Maura cleaned up and joined them in the kitchen a few minutes later.   
Her mother was chopping vegetables while her father placed three plates on the counter. Maura joined and helped to set the table.

After dinner, Maura cleaned up and told her parents that she would go to bed early since she had gotten home quite late yesterday.

They said their goodnights and Maura returned to her room where she laid down on her bed typing a message for Jane.

Maura: “I hope you had a nice day. Good night.” – 8:30 p.m.

Only a minute later her phone vibrated.

Jane: “It was okay. Mum bugged me about school. You are already going to bed?” – 8:31 p.m.

Maura smiled. She would love to meet the woman who could drive Jane that crazy.

Maura: “I am a little tired since we went to bed late last night. You should try to get some sleep as well.” – 8:33 p.m.

Jane: “Nah, I am not tired right now. Maybe I stay up to watch a movie or something.” – 8:34 p.m.

Maura:” What movie will you be watching?” – 8:35 p.m.

Jane:” Don’t know. Well, I’ll let you go to bed now. Good night and sweet dreams.” – 8:36 p.m.

Maura smiled as she sent her last message: “Good night. See you tomorrow.” – 8:37 p.m.

She couldn’t wait for the next day to come.


	14. Chapter 14

During school hours Maura and Jane tried to keep their relationship as secret as possible not wanting to get in trouble with school. They had made plans to spend their afternoons together as soon as they finished their detention, and nothing could stop them.

Until then Maura helped Jane with her studies and Jane started teaching her some baseball. To be true the blonde enjoyed those hours a lot letting the other girl stand behind her leading her arms to hit the ball with the bat. They could be close without anyone questioning their relationship and she could feel the brunette’s heartbeat.

“Earth to Maura.”, Jane said pulling the blonde from her thoughts. They were sitting in a small café, study books on the table.

“Sorry.”, Maura replied, “What were you saying?”

“I said that I think we did enough studying for today and that thanks to you I am more than prepared for the quiz tomorrow.”

“I am glad you feel that way.”, she smiled and closed her book. Jane followed her example and stuffed her book into her backpack clearing the table.

“So, what do you want to do now?”, Jane asked smiling softly at the other girl.

“Well, we could go for a walk?”, Maura suggested.

“Alright. I’ll get the bill and we can go.”, Jane got up and walked over to the counter. The blonde had noticed that the other girl enjoyed paying when they were on their dates. It seemed that Jane felt proud about it and she stopped discussing the topic after the first four dates.

When Jane returned, she helped Maura into her coat before grabbing her own jacket and backpack.

They walked close, sometimes slightly bumping against each other and every time the blonde's smile grew bigger.

___________________________________

“You know what today is, don’t you?”, Jane asked Frost leaning over her table to get closer so she wouldn’t need to raise her voice for him to hear.   
He turned confused.

“Don’t tell me you forgot!”, Jane looked at him offended.

“Come on man. Give me a break. Tell me already what today is, I can’t remember anything special about it.”, he said.

“It’s Maua’s last day of detention!”, she smiled.

“Man, you got it bad for her.”, he teased not knowing how right he was with his statement.

“Speaking of her, there is the girl in question.”, Frost said as he saw Maura enter the room. She had stayed behind to talk to a teacher so Jane had gone to detention alone and even though it had been only a few minutes without the other girl she felt her heart skip, happy to see her again.

“You were talking about me?”, Maura asked, sitting down next to Jane her usual spot.

“Well, you know, only that today is your last day stuck in this prison after school.”, Jane smiled leaning over to bump her shoulder against Maura’s.

“Has it already been that long?”, Maura wondered. The last few days had passed in the blink of an eye. Jane still had to go to detention for a few more days which now meant the blonde would have to wait for the other girl before being able to spend some time together.

“Why the long face?”, Jane asked noticing how her girlfriend’s mood changed.   
“I am going to miss spending my afternoons here with you.”, the blonde answered truthfully.

“Oh, come on I bet you find something better to do than to be stuck here with us.”, Frost said leaning dangerously far back in his chair. Two legs were up in the air and it only took a little too much weight on the other side to throw the boy to the ground.

Since he had gotten rather close to the table behind him, he hit his head in the process yelping in pain as he landed hard on the floor.

“You okay, Frost?”, Jane asked concerned and got to his side quickly. Maura joined her on the other side while Barry raised his hand to touch the back of his head.   
When he pulled it away again his fingers were covered in blood.

“Fuck.”, Jane exclaimed looking at her friend.

“You can say that. It hurts like hell!”, Frost said trying to get up, but his vision got blurry and he struggled before Jane helped him carefully.

“You should go see a doctor right away. That fall was pretty hard, and you might have a concussion.”, Maura stated matter of fact.

Right at that moment, the teacher entered the room.

“What’s going on here?”, he questioned looking at the three students sitting on the ground.

“Mr. Jefferson it is good that you are here. You see, Barry fell and hit his head pretty bad.”, Maura explained helping Jane pull their friend to his feet.

“Oh my. Alright. You two get him to the school nurse right away.”, Mr. Jefferson ordered his face turning a little pale as he noticed the blood on the boy's head.

Without any more words, the tree left but before exiting the room Maura grabbed some paper towels to place on Frost’s head.

“Thanks, guys.”, Barry said as he sat down on a chair in the nurse’s office. The woman had one to call his parents as soon as they stepped through the door.

“No probs. You’ll be alright here?”, Jane asked, uneasy about leaving her friend hurt and alone.

“Yeah. I’ll be fine.”, he smiled reassuringly, “At least I get a 'get out of prison for free card' this time.”

“I bet that was your plan all along.”, Jane joked.

“I am sure it was not his plan, Jane.”, Maura said not understanding her girlfriend’s sarcastic statement and Frost started to laugh at the straight face the blonde made. His head started to throb even more.

“Sarcasm, Maura.”, Jane smiled adoring the girl even more for her concern about a boy she had only met a few days ago. And she remembered rumors that had found their way to her and she only had paid attention to them after starting to date the blond herself.   
“Did you hear that the Ice queen managed to score 100% on the last test again? I bet she is some kind of robot.”, where the words she had heard passing by a group of students.   
Right there she would have loved to tell them how wrong they were. She had felt nothing but warmth and love from the other girl and the reason she scored so high was that she worked her butt off for it. Instead, Jane continued walking past them happy to know the truth about the girl.

“Sorry.”, the blonde said blushing and Jane could have kissed her right on the spot.

Frost looked from one girl to the other and slowly it dawned on him.   
“Wait…”, he pointed his finger at both,” don’t tell me…”

Jane’s eyes widened in shock; she had hoped to keep their relationship a secret at least for a little bit longer.

“What do you mean?”, Maura asked still not catching up on the situation.

“I think he figured us out.”, Jane said, “Didn’t you?” She turned towards Frost.

“How long has this been going on?”, he asked, ignoring her question, still not completely sure.

“A few days.”, Jane answered, getting ready for whatever reaction he might have.

“How did I not notice?”, Barry asked himself out loud and Jane braced herself for the storm she thought would come. Her whole body was in fight or flight mode until she felt Maura’s fingers slowly intertwining with hers and when she looked at the face, she adored so much, a small smile formed on her lips.

Frost looked at them and his expression softened:” Congrats.”  
Jane turned her head:” So you are alright with this?”

“I am offended you would think I would have a problem with you two being together. To be completely honest I am amazed that I didn’t notice earlier.”, he said reassuring her that it was more than okay with him.

He knew how hard it could be to come out to friends and family since his mum decided she would rather spend her life with another woman. And even though it took him a little to get used to the thought of two mothers he had seen his mother happier than ever before and to be honest that is what love is all about, right? Being happy with the person that makes you feel complete.

“What can I say. You were always a little slow.”, Jane joked and now Maura was completely lost. The situation had changed from serious to fun, way too quick for her. Before she could ask for any clearance the nurse returned with an icepack in hand.

“What are you two still doing here? Shouldn’t you be in detention?”, she said passing the plastic bag with ice wrapped in a towel over to the boy who excepted it without hesitation, only happy to get something that helped with the throbbing pain radiating from his backside.

“Sorry. We’ll be going now.”, Jane said pulling Maura out of the infirmary.

In the hallway, the brunet led them to the staircase where she found a quiet spot, and no one would notice them.

“To be honest I didn’t get the whole situation.”, Maura said blushing slightly. She didn’t like her inability to handle social situations that well.

“Well, to summarise: one person now knows that we are together but no need to worry he’ll keep it a secret.”, Jane smiled pushing a lost strand of honey-blond hair behind Maura’s ear.

Maura’s back was against the wall and Jane placed her hands beside her head before leaning in to capture her lips in a sweet kiss.

___________________________________

“Guess who.”, Jane said covering Maura’s eyes.

“I don’t guess.”, the blonde answered.

“Well, make an exception.”, Jane said, smiling.

“Alright. Based on the tone of your voice and the size and the feeling of your hands, I come to the conclusion that it is Jane Rizzoli covering my eyes.”

“Saying it like that is no fun. You should say I am Stacey or Victoria and then I would reveal myself, upset that you didn’t notice it is me. You then smile and pull me in for a kiss, telling me you knew all along.”, Jane explained lifting her hands from the blonde’s eyes to sit down next to her.

“You know I can’t lie.”, Maura answered,” but I can still kiss you.”  
She pulled Jane closer to press their lips together in a passionate kiss.

When they finally parted Jane felt out of breath.  
“Hey you.”, she whispered.

“Hey.”, Maura whispered back and smiled.

After a second Jane leaned back getting comfortable on the blanket Maura had laid out.

They were sitting in the park beneath a bit tree. Maura was wearing a short summer dress and looked stunning while Jane wore her usual tank top and some shorts. When she stretched the dark material of the top revealed a little bit of soft skin.

“So, what are we going to study today my teacher?”, Jane asked turning to her side to look at the girl she was happy to call her girlfriend.

“I thought we could start with Spanish and then finish with biology?”, Maura said pulling out her books.

Somewhere in the distance, a dog barked, and the blonde felt the bliss of just being without having to fulfill any expectations. She loved meeting Jane in the park on Saturday mornings. They had their own private spot between trees and far away from all the families.

“We could do that… or how about you lay down with me for a moment?”, Jane asked taking Maura’s hand.

“If I do that, we won’t get any studying done.”

“I promise we will study, just give me a few minutes. I want to enjoy this moment a little longer.”

Maura gave in laying down next to Jane. Their fingers intertwined as they looked up at the branch covered sky.   
They were lost in their own world not noticing the gazing eyes glancing over from behind a tree.


End file.
